


Double Trouble I thru VI

by thebasement_archivist



Category: The X-Files, Xtro-II (1990)
Genre: Crossover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 1999-09-30
Updated: 1999-09-30
Packaged: 2018-11-20 12:53:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 30,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11335944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebasement_archivist/pseuds/thebasement_archivist
Summary: Alex has a surprise for Mulder. What, again!





	Double Trouble I thru VI

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Basement](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Basement), which moved to the AO3 to ensure the stories are always available and so that authors may have complete control of their own works. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in June 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [The Basement's collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thebasement/profile).

 

Double Trouble I By Megaera

26 October 1998  
TITLE Double Trouble I   
AUTHOR Megaera  
DATE 14th October 1998  
E-MAIL   
FEEDBACK Always welcome  
DISTRIBUTION Any time any place anywhere, but only if you enjoyed the story.  
RATING NC-17   
CONTENT WARNING m/m sex Violence   
CATEGORY M/K  
SPOILERS After the Red and Black  
KEYWORDS Clones  
SUMMARY Alex has a surprise for Mulder. What, again!  
DISCLAIMER I don't own any character from the X-Files, I'm only borrowing them for my own entertainment and hopefully, other peoples. No copyright infringement is intended. Mr Carter please don't take offence at my use of your beautiful characters.  
COMMENTS Well, my mind's gone off at a tangent again, which is what it seems to do best. I don't know how well this works, but if it does, let me know, there are lots of ideas bubbling up in this universe. 

* * *

Double Trouble I  
By Megaera  


**************************

Mulder knew something was wrong as soon as he opened the door to his apartment. There was a presence there, his instincts seemed to prickle in response to a subliminal signal. As he cautiously moved forward into the room, gun drawn, he heard a whisper of movement in his bedroom. In the dim street light filtering in through the blinds, he saw a body lying on his bed, tangled and defenceless in his sheets. He moved further into the room, staring at the figure. The man sighed slightly in his sleep, turned restlessly. Light caught the familiar contours of his face. Alex Krycek! Sleeping in his bed! Obviously naked, and disturbingly beautiful. "You son of a bitch Krycek!" He yelled the words, lunged forward, wanting to drive his fist into the firm stomach of the man who had betrayed him so often, who had kissed him so disturbingly in his office, three months ago. Mulder felt outraged that Krycek was here, taking such liberties, as if he owned the place.

Then he was astride the body, about to beat the pulp out of his nemesis. Green eyes snapped open, and a pair of hands were flung upwards, pushing against his chest, warding him off as he tried to grab at Krycek. He tried to bring his hands up to seize Krycek's throat, and with lightning speed, the younger man's hands grasped his wrists, holding him at bay. At first, the wrongness didn't intrude on Mulder's consciousness, he was too busy trying to kill his former partner. Then a nagging thought burst into the front of his conscious mind. Krycek's two hands holding him off!

"What?" Pulling the left hand upwards, staring at it in disbelief. "Alex?"

The cold muzzle of a gun pressed against Mulder's temple. "Hands behind your back, Mulder", a voice growled. Then handcuffs were pinning his wrists together. A dark leather clad figure slid into his vision from the left. "You like my little surprise, Mulder? Maybe I should have had him gift wrapped!" Mulder gaped, open-mouthed, his head swinging back and forth between Alex Krycek and his dark clad double.

//Two of them? Or am I just seeing double from the last time Alex beat me up//

"You got a twin, Krycek?" Somehow the wisecrack slipped out. The real Krycek, one armed and mean as ever, leaned forward with a grin. "Meet my clone, Mulder!"

If anyone had told Mulder that by the evening, he would be sitting handcuffed on top of a naked Alex Krycek, real or otherwise, he would have called them insane.

The clone grinned at Mulder, and began to slide his fingers up the thighs that were pressing against his body. Mulder hissed, began to move away, then froze as once again, the gun pressed against his head. The slow glide of those fingers upwards, lightly brushing against Mulder's crotch, then beginning firmer strokes as they found what they sought. The agent heard himself gasp, before he could stop it. Alex laughed in deep amusement. Clever fingers working at Mulder's zipper, pulling it down, reaching inside to grasp his rapidly hardening cock.

"Damn it, Alex! Let me up." Another laugh, this time more throaty and sensual.

 "He's none too bright yet, but he has some very well developed instincts, Mulder." 

What those hands were doing to Mulder was indescribably good. Despite the discomfort of the handcuffs, or possibly because of them, he was becoming very aroused. The clone grinned at him, rubbing and milking his already incredibly hard cock.

Mulder felt as though he were in a dream, his mind breaking up into mirror shards, the only reality was the feel of those hands touching him.

The clone abruptly twisted, heaved with surprising strength, and Mulder yelped as he was easily flipped onto his back, the clone sliding on top of him. Then that beautiful mouth slipped over the head of his cock and he forgot to think at all. His body arched up against that incredible sensation. He was swallowed whole, teased, licked and set on fire. He couldn't move, his arms pinned behind him, as the clone tormented him, slowly, with laughter in his eyes. He screamed as finally the stimulation became too much. Exploding upwards, coming and coming, losing himself in the fire of orgasm. The clone gave his softening cock a final, affectionate suck, and slithered off Mulder's body, a satisfied smile on his face.

Krycek was watching him, an unfathomable look on his face, but something about his posture made Mulder realise that those green eyes were very aroused by what they had seen. The assassin jerked a finger at the clone, who began to pull on dark clothes similar to his prototype. The two of them standing side by side sent a shiver down Mulder's spine. So alike, yet there was an innocence in one pair of eyes that the other had not seen, for what seemed like a thousand years.

Mulder couldn't think of what to say, a new experience for him. That he had been both aroused and satisfied by a man, to all extents and purposes, Alex Krycek, and that the original Krycek had watched. He shook his head, dazedly.

"Time to go, Foxy." His nemesis grabbed Mulder by the arm, pulling him upwards. Then a sly smile crossed his face.

"You're a little exposed for public viewing, Mulder." Another grin. Then Krycek's fingers were gently lifting his limp cock, sliding it inside his pants and tugging up the zipper. Mulder couldn't stop the vivid blush that reddened his cheeks. Then the gun was back in black gloved hands, and as the clone tugged him to his feet, Alex motioned towards the door. The clone led Mulder down to a dark Nissan car that was parked down the street, as Alex followed, gun carefully concealed against Mulder's back. Then Mulder was unceremoniously bundled into the back seat, the clone pushing him down to obscure his identity and to hide their destination from him. 

After about four hours of driving, they pulled into a small motel complex with very private guest cabins, and Krycek held a gun to his head, in the car, while the clone got a key from the reception desk. Krycek smiled cynically at Mulder. "What do you think of him, Mulder? He should train up well."

"He seems to have the instincts, you were right. He knows how to suck up to people, like you always did." 

Krycek's eyes narrowed. "I call him Alexei, Mulder. And if you try messing with his head, I'll kill you!"

 Alex motioned Mulder out of the car, and quickly bundled the agent into the cabin, which had an open plan living room/bedroom. He tossed his handcuff key to the clone. "Unlock his hands", he ordered. Dark green eyes stared at him for a moment, then the clone complied. "Take your jacket off Mulder, and your shirt."

"What?" Mulder shook his head. The gun in Alex's hand was suddenly aimed steadily at his head. He sighed, and slipped off his clothes.

"On the bed, Mulder."

"You've got to be kidding! After last time!"

"It's a life or death decision, Mulder. What's it going to be?"

With a sigh, Mulder lay on the bed, and the clone, grinning disconcertingly, clipped the cuffs round his wrists, fastening them to the bedhead. Alex smiled grimly. "Alexei, if he makes trouble, hit him a few times to keep him quiet." Green eyes silently watched their original owner. Alex headed out of the door.

Mulder pulled uselessly at the cuffs. The cabin must be somewhere up in the mountains, because the air in the mountains was quite chill. He shivered at the feel of it on his bare skin. Then the clone came towards him, a hand gently rested, warmly, against his chest.

"Get off me Alex!", he shouted. Green eyes blinked, and a hurt look passed over the young face.

"My name is Alexei", he whispered. Mulder felt a jolt of surprise. Somehow he had thought the clone was too stupid to think for himself.

"I'm sorry, Alexei. I just don't like being touched like that." He tried to keep his voice soothing and calm. A puzzled look in the emerald eyes.

"But you did like it when I touched you before!" The hand began to slide downwards

"No, Alexei! Please!" It was too late. Dark lips began to trail their way down his body, hands following to fumble at his belt.

"Ahhh... No. Don't." His body was already reacting to the memory of what those lips had done before. What they intended to do now. In a lithe movement, Mulder's trousers and boxers were tugged eagerly off his body, then the clone smiled, like someone with a new toy. He reached over and fumbled in Alex's bag, producing a tube of lubricant. Mulder's eyes went very wide.

"No!" 

The clone looked in bewilderment at him, at his rapidly shrinking cock, then tears began to spill down his face. "Don't you like me? You look so good. I wanted to please you."

 Mulder felt a pang of guilt at the miserable look on the young man's face. Alexei meant no harm, but long ago memories made his desire intimidating to Mulder. "I'm sorry, Alexei. I do like you. But I just don't want you to fuck me."

 Green eyes lit up unnervingly. "I can do something else that you'd like!" And before he could protest, those talented lips were around his cock again, and his ability to think rapidly diminished. Then Alexei began to smooth something cool and slippery on his erection. 

"Huh?" Mulder tried to focus his treacherous mind. Then the clone was on top of him. There was a moment of stunned realisation, then his cock was being worked into hot tightness, as Alexei lowered himself onto his lover's erect cock, working it into him, inch by exquisite inch. The sensation was incredible. Mulder felt as though he were being clenched by a hot, tight fist. Then his athletic lover began to move, rocking at first, then rising and sinking, increasing the incredible friction. Mulder's hips wouldn't keep still, arching off the bed, trying to match his lover, thrusting himself with all his strength into Alexei's body. All too soon, Alexei screamed, his body spasming, squeezing out Mulder's own orgasm. As they came together, Mulder couldn't stop his own cry of ecstasy. 

The younger man's body slid gracefully down on top of him, head on his chest, and snuggled blissfully into Mulder. Within a few minutes, the change in his breathing told Mulder he was asleep. God help him, he liked the feel of the warm body close to his, under the sheets. The sweet face snuggled trustingly against him. So disconcerting to look into that familiar face as a lover. Then he too drifted off into dreamless sleep.

*********

Alex returned late that night. Blinking in surprise, he surveyed the darkened room. He heard the sound of someone sleeping from the area of the bed.

//Shit Alexei, don't you know never to leave Mulder unguarded.//

As his eyes adjusted to the gloom, his expression changed. Fox Mulder asleep, his face curiously open, body tangled up with Alexei. Even as he watched, Alexei moved in his sleep, burrowing into Mulder's shoulder, Mulder's head moving drowsily, kissing the younger man's forehead. Alex felt a sudden irrational jealousy.

"Damn you Mulder. Did you know how much that would hurt me?" The thought of Mulder with a body like Alex Krycek in his arms, but a whole body. He must consider it preferable to that of a cripple.

Mulder stirred in his sleep. He was beginning to feel uncomfortable as his arms were tugged awkwardly by the cuffs. He turned his body into Alexei's lying half on his side, trying to get comfortable. And a soft sigh caught his attention. Krycek was sitting in the almost darkness, in a large armchair, his head thrown back, and even as Mulder watched, the younger man's hand came up and swiped angrily at his cheek; his shoulders were shaking slightly, and Mulder realised with astonishment that Alex was crying.

"Alex?" His voice softer than normal. A dark head lifted.

"Mulder." Alex's voice was hoarse. "I should have known you'd find a way to turn this situation round to your advantage. You bastard!" There was a world of sadness in his voice.

"Alex. He doesn't exactly take no for an answer." Mulder felt oddly defensive.

"Yeah well, I suppose there is that to consider." Alex sounded resigned. A lithe body uncoiled from the chair, moved towards him.

"Alex, can you do something about these handcuffs? It's pretty uncomfortable." Mulder tried to reason with his captor.

Krycek sat on the edge of the bed, reached out and unlocked the cuff from Mulder's left hand, releasing him from the bed. Then he slid his clothed body into the bed behind Mulder, slid his right arm over the top of the agent's body, then cuffed his own wrist to Mulder's right hand. The sensation of Alex Krycek's hard body against his was, to say the least, disturbing for Mulder. As was the warm pressure of an arm over his side.

"Don't think I trust you, Mulder." The words breathed softly in his ear. Then Alex nestled into the curve of his body, pulling him closer. The worst thing was that Alex felt comfortable. Not sweet and vulnerable like his clone, but warm, strong and oddly reassuring. That was the last thought of Mulder's mind as he slid into much needed sleep.

Waking was one of the weirdest things he had done in a long time. On the pillow, a few inches away from his head, the young clone Alexei slept, his face peaceful, smiling. But Mulder's arms, legs and body were tangled up with and wrapped around a hard muscled, dark clad body. Somehow, during the night, their positions had changed. He was the one hugging, enfolding and half on top of Alex Krycek.

//Damn Freud and Jung and all their theories about the unconscious mind reaching out for what it wanted//

Irresistibly, he buried his face in the back of Alex's neck, breathing in the leather scent of him. Damn it all. That small act was making him aroused. Mulder tried to move away, but the clone snuggled into the small of his back, so that there was no moving away from the source of his discomfort/desire.

"Hmmm?" Alex began to wake, unconsciously rubbing himself against Mulder's erection, which suddenly had a life of its own, pressing rock hard into the small of the younger man's back.

Green eyes opened suddenly in stunned wakefulness, feeling Mulder so close to him and in such an obvious state of tumescence. Lifting startled green eyes to his. Mulder blushed.

"Shit Alex! I'm sorry. I guess I was dreaming." Trying to cover himself hurriedly.

Alex's next act stunned him. He grasped Mulder's hand that was cuffed to his, and pulled it down into his own groin. Then Mulder realised that Alex was just as aroused by the contact of their two bodies as he was.

"What now?" He whispered in Alex's ear.

"I just know I'm going to regret this", Alex whispered, and loosened the cuffs binding them together. He clipped the cuff to the bed again. Mulder suddenly realised that, for a moment, he could have escaped. But the ache in his groin was so damn distracting.

 "We're alike in more than just our faces, Mulder." Grinning, Alex slowly slipped off his top, exposing his smooth chest, jeans quickly followed. Mulder felt as if he was in a delightful dream. Alex slowly reached out his one hand, and began to rub it against Mulder's chest. He trailed his fingers slowly downwards as Mulder watched him through half closed eyes. He wanted this. Had wanted it for so long. The way his body had betrayed him yesterday, and this morning, longing for that touch. Even when they had been partners, before Alex's betrayal, a flash of emerald eyes could make his heart beat faster. And the anger and longing afterwards, making him hit out at the source of his pain. 

Mulder could drown, looking into those sea green eyes.

 Alex lowered his lips, and began to kiss along the line of Mulder's stomach muscles, making tiny circles with his tongue, as he worked lower. He lifted his head for a moment, and grinned at Mulder, who was moaning softly. Then the younger man's lips closed over the tip of Mulder's weeping cock, and he began to tease the agent with tongue and teeth.

Mulder made a sound of wordless entreaty in his throat, but Alex pulled away from him, before the agent could catch hold of his hair, to draw him closer.

Alex was exhilarated. Mulder's face was for once, open and vulnerable. The longing and delight in his eyes was everything Alex could have hoped for. He didn't feel jealous of the clone any more. He had his own heaven to reach for.

He fumbled on the table, for the lubricant his other self had left on the bedside table, and in slow, sensuous caresses, began to anoint Mulder's cock.

"Alex!" Mulder pleaded with him. "Please." In pure delight, Alex leaned forward, and pressed himself against Mulder, along the full length of his body. He plundered Mulder's delectable mouth in a fierce kiss. Mulder's free arm came up around him, pulling him close. Alex turned in Mulder's embrace, and rubbed himself back against the object of his desire. 

When Alex started to move against him, Mulder could stand it no longer, and pushed Alex down on the bed, flinging himself on top of the younger man, and plunging himself into Alex's willing body. Alex was as hot as he was for this. The realisation stunned Mulder. Though from Alex's reactions earlier, he should have suspected it. Then all thoughts fled in the euphoria of possessing that beautiful body. He began to thrust rapidly into his lover, relishing the delicious, moaning pleas, escaping the younger man, in his passion. Alex began to move his body, pushing upwards to meet the older man's downstrokes. Mulder's hands caught at Alex's shoulders, as he finally came, crying out as his semen surged into Alex. The force of his orgasm was all that Alex needed to send him over the edge. His body bucked beneath Mulder, then he heaved a long, slow sigh, and lay relaxed, utterly sated. 

The two of them lay, still locked together, feeling their bodies slowly steadying heartbeats. Not wanting to move away from that seductive peace their passion had brought.

"This is crazy!" Mulder whispered into the side of Alex's neck. 

"Yeah! But it feels so good!" Alex murmured.

"Can I play, too?" A young and lonely voice sighed in both their ears. A hand slid slowly over Mulder's back, then down between his buttocks.

With a yelp, Mulder pulled away from Alex, and turned to shove the clone away from him. With his arm trapped awkwardly, he found it difficult to get leverage, as he pushed the clone. He heaved with all his strength, and knocked Alex out of bed. The assassin landed with a yelp, on his butt.

Two sets of green eyes stared at him, accusingly. 

"You can do without your fucking breakfast!" Alex snarled, and stormed off, into the bathroom. The clone pouted, then followed him. He turned back briefly towards Mulder and winked.

*******

"You like him a lot!" Young eyes laughed at their worldly wise counterparts.

"Mind your own fucking business, Alexei!" Alex was annoyed that his morning had been messed up.

"He's cute! I like him too!" It took a lot to disturb Alexei's composure. 

"What the hell do you know?" Alex's voice was rough, pain filled. 

Gentle fingers brushed against his empty sleeve, a chin rested for a moment on his shoulder, and the clone hugged him. Alex leaned back against his double for a few moments. He had been surprised at the depth of his emotions, where Mulder was concerned. And for that matter, at his enjoyment of Alexei's sweet affection. 

"I'm glad I got you out of that hellhole, Alexei." He let tenderness tinge his voice. "I like having you with me! But please don't jump on Mulder again. He's a little sensitive about some things."

The clone grinned disconcertingly. "I'll follow where you lead Alex!"

The sound of laughter in the other room did nothing to pacify a rather irritated Mulder.

*******

Alex emerged from the bathroom half dressed, and quickly shrugged on jeans and his leather jacket. His clone dressed identically. "Hey, Alexei!" The original, annoying and frustrating Alex Krycek was back. "Unlock those cuffs." The key was flung down on the bed. The clone freed Mulder, who rubbed his wrists. The older man stared at the gun which had materialised in Krycek's hand. "Get dressed, Mulder", he was ordered. 

As he slowly pulled on his clothes, Mulder glanced at Alex. His voice was harsh when he spoke. "Very romantic, Alex! What do you plan to do as an encore?" Alexei followed instructions, and cuffed Mulder's hands behind him again. The agent groaned softly at the renewed ache in his shoulders, and the clone gently began to rub at the painful muscles, a look of concern on his face.

"Get off me!" Mulder glared at the clone. To his shock, the innocent eyes abruptly filled with tears, and a very young looking clone backed away from Mulder.

"Go get the car ready, Alexei!" The clone left.

Alex snarled in rage and grabbed hold of Mulder, slamming him up against the wall, pressing his body against Mulder. "You son of a bitch! Don't take your frustration out on him. I didn't think you were the kind of man who kicks anything defenceless!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset him." Mulder said sadly. 

Alex sighed. "I know", he murmured.

Mulder pressed his forehead against the coolness of the wall. God, even when he was angry, Alex felt so good. Mulder whimpered, and for a brief instant, pushed his hips back against Alex, wringing a gasp of longing from the younger man.

Alex pulled away from him abruptly. "Mulder, it would be so easy'."

"Yeah!" Alex heard the desire in the agent's voice. "Let me go Alex. Please. Uncuff me."

Alex shook his head. He pulled Mulder round to face him, and leaned forward to kiss the firm mouth. He got a bit more involved than he intended. So did Mulder. Finally, they broke apart, breathing hard. Alex sighed. "No! I'm sorry Mulder. But even after last night, I don't trust you.! You don't know what's at stake here."

Mulder looked unhappily at him. "If you can't let me go, then at least tell me about the clone then."

Alex remembered the occasion all to well. "O.K. Mulder, if you must know, I'll tell you"

//He had broken in to a top secret installation run by some of the Cancerman's associates. He was always seeking useful information. After all, what you know keeps you alive. He hadn't intended for the raid to end in a fire fight, but the two scientists who ran the place had been eager to keep their secrets. So they ended up dead in a pool of their own blood. Searching the place afterwards, the last thing he expected was to hear a whimpering noise coming from behind a locked door. One furious kick had solved that problem. 

Alex had walked into a small, closet like room, and found himself face to face with a pair of green eyes, identical to his own. Their owner could have been his twin, except for the battered face, filled with innocent bewilderment, and the bruised, beaten body. He knew what he was looking at immediately, this was a cloning laboratory. Then for the first time, green eyes really looked at their dark original, and went wide with astonishment. Tentatively, a trembling hand reached out to touch Krycek's chest, and discovered him to be real. The clone gave a radiant smile, bruised face lighting up in delight, and he flung his arms around Alex, hugging him close. Then puppy dog eyes lifted again to Alex's "Hi," the clone whispered, sounding very young, "I'm Alexei."//

"That bastard must have set me up from the start, Mulder." Alex's voice was harsh with remembered anger. "He was supposed to be left dead, in my place so that they could make me disappear. Then I went rogue, so they had no use for him. Except as some sort of slave to amuse them." A sigh. "I couldn't leave him there Mulder."

Mulder was smiling at him. Biting back a curse of embarrassment, Alex motioned Mulder to the door. As they got in the car again, Alex's fingers lingered for a moment on Mulder's shoulder. "I really need your help on this Mulder. You didn't see what else was in that lab. But I want to show you. We're all in deep shit now!"

End of this episode.   
Feedback please!

 

* * *

 

27 November 1998  
TITLE Double Trouble II (1/1)  
AUTHOR Megaera  
DATE 20TH October 1998  
E-MAIL   
FEEDBACK Always welcome  
DISTRIBUTION Any time any place anywhere, but only if you enjoyed the story.  
RATING NC-17 m/m sex Violence  
CONTENT WARNING   
CATEGORY M/K  
SPOILERS After the Red and Black  
KEYWORDS Clones  
SUMMARY A continuing series about Alex and his clone.   
DISCLAIMER I don't own any character from the X-Files, I'm only borrowing them for my own entertainment and hopefully, other peoples. No copyright infringement is intended. Mr Carter please don't take offence at my use of your beautiful characters.  
COMMENTS I quite enjoyed working out how people interacted in this story. Thanks to the people who sent feedback for episode 1. I'll try to continue the series. It's been fun working with a cuddly Alex! And boy, do I need a cuddle from Alex! 

* * *

Double Trouble II  
By Megaera  


**************************

Alexei the clone stared at the two men in the car with him, who at the moment, defined the limits of his world.

*Alex!* Beloved, strong and protective. From the first moment he had looked into identical green eyes, he had idolised his dark double. Alex had seen such danger and heartbreak in his life, and had survived it all. Tears prickled at the back of the clones eyes, as he thought of what had happened to Alex's arm. Sometimes when the memories and the ache in his arm, became too much, Alex would let himself be held, and weep in loving arms. No one had ever needed the clone before, and it felt so good.

And of course *Mulder.* Dark brown eyes and a quick wit. Alex talked about him all the time, the clone had seen the barely concealed admiration in his protector's eyes. Mulder was beautiful, and his body had felt so good. Surprised, Alexei realised that he too wanted Mulder.

Maybe Alex would let him play again.

Alexei gazed directly at Mulder, who sat next to him in the back seat. The agent became aware of his scrutiny, and sighed softly.

"I'm sorry I shouted at you, Alexei." Mulder sounded regretful. "I'm just tired, and I let my temper get the better of me."

Alexei smiled sweetly, and slid across the leather seat until he was next to Mulder. He rested his head trustingly against Mulder's shoulder and snuggled into him, sliding his arms around the agent's waist. Mulder saw Alex watching him in the interior mirror of the car, dark eyes crinkling in what was probably a smile of approval. Why did his relationships always have to get so complicated? Mulder didn't know, but he didn't doubt that his desire for both men was going to get him into trouble.

"We're here." Alex Krycek announced suddenly. The car pulled off the main road and began to bump along a dirt road. About a hundred feet into the cover of the trees, Alex halted the car. "We'd better walk from here, I don't know whether we'll find company!

Mulder moved awkwardly, his imprisoned arms were aching so much. Alex glanced at him, the reluctantly passed Alexei the key to his handcuffs. "Cuff him to your wrist, Alexei, it'll hurt him less, but he won't be able to escape. The green eyed clone passively followed instructions. Mulder groaned at the painful sensation of blood returning to his arms. Krycek waited impatiently for him to recover, then gestured for both men to follow him. They came to the top of a small hill, and Alex flung himself down, edging forward to look over the top. "Come and see, Mulder. They haven't been back to clear the place up!" Mulder followed Alex's example, and crept to the top of the hill on his belly. Damn, he was wearing the wrong clothes for this! The scene below him was one of sinister silence, there was no movement in the compound below. No lights were visible in the lab buildings, which were half buried in the hillside.

 A gentle hand crept into Mulder's and he found his fingers interlaced with Alexei's. The loveable young face was filled with anxiety.

"Bad! We should go." The hand tugged at him.

"Would someone mind telling me what the hell is going on!" Mulder hissed at his companions.

Alex turned to look at him. "I have to show you what's in that lab, Mulder."

Alexei whimpered. "Don't want to go there! Please! They'll hurt me for being bad!"

Alex reached out to grab his clone's shoulders. "We have to, Alexei. It's O.K. I won't let them get you. I promise." Huge scared eyes watched his face, then the clone nodded. "Love you Alex."

When they entered the lab, the smell of death was in the air, along with other, less identifiable chemical smells. Maybe ammonia? Alexei sobbed, shrank back against Mulder. With a look of exasperation, Alex finally freed Mulder's wrists from the cuffs.

"I guess curiosity will keep you here now, Foxy!"

"Thanks, Alex, for such a romantic day out!"

The assassin gave a wicked grin. "Stay here Alexei, if you don't want to come with us." Alex gestured to the outer office area. Alexei barely noticed. He sank onto a chair, arms wrapping round himself, huddled unseeing in misery. Alex gave him a slightly guilty look, then led Mulder down the corridor. It emerged through a door, into the main lab area. The two scientists' bodies had been there for over a week, and even this close to winter, decomposition was well advanced.

"Through there", Alex said, ignoring the remains. Trying not to show his revulsion, Mulder followed him through the door. He gasped. He was standing on a platform looking into an area that had been excavated into the hillside. But it was the contents of the cavern that stunned him. There were literally hundreds of them. Glass and metal coffins, each holding preserved bodies, lined up against the walls. He could see quite clearly that many of the bodies seemed subtly wrong, as if they weren't quite human. Alex had found the place the Consortium had been storing it's genetic experiments for the past thirty years. Fingers gently closed around Mulder's shoulder. "Frightening, isn't it! They've been messing with human DNA for so long. Including mine!" He gestured back towards the office where Alexei waited. Mulder pulled away, and began to descend into the cavern, eager to examine the installation.

********

Alexei sat huddled in the dark office. He didn't want to be back here in this dreadful place.. He had never realised, until he met Alex, how miserable his life really was. Alex was so kind to him, gentle and generous, sharing everything, even Mulder. Being here brought all of the terrible memories back of the time before.

//His *father* Doctor Anderson, stroking his head softly, as the clone knelt before him, so eager for a crumb of affection. "That's right Alexei, be good. You do something nice for me, and I might even let you watch t.v. tonight"//

The other lab worker, the one that had so frightened Alexei was John Gurney. The one who never seemed to be happy with him, despite Alexei's desperate efforts to please him. Who so enjoyed hurting him, with fists, and lately, kicks. //You shouldn't tempt me like that, you little slut!//

Alexei moaned in distress. Lost in memories, the first warning he had of renewed danger was when the door burst open, and the three armed men burst in. He found himself staring into the business end of three large guns. One of them laughed. "I've seen him here before, he's harmless. Just their little whore."

The second one scowled. "You can smell the death in here!" He grabbed Alexei's arm painfully. "Who did this? How long ago?"

"Don't know," he whispered. "My name's Alexei. I can be good..." His voice trailed off at the look of disgust on their faces.

The first man slapped him across the face. "Move from here and I'll hurt you, do you understand?" Alexei nodded frantically. "Good!" He gestured to the other men. "Let's check this place out. Maybe we'll get lucky."

They were going to hurt Alex and Mulder! The thought of that brought the most unbearable anguish he had ever felt. For a moment his terror of the gunmen held him motionless, but then he was scrambling to his feet, creeping hopelessly after them, his devotion to his lovers overcoming his fear. Better to die with them, than face that dreadful emptiness of being alone again. Tears silently slid down his cheeks.

******

Mulder heard it first, the clatter somewhere above him, as he examined the documents that he had found on the lower level, in a filing room. Alex glanced upwards, then opened his mouth to call to Alexei. Moving forward, Mulder instinctively jammed his hand over Alex's mouth. The other man looked startled. Then they both heard the harsh voice overhead. "There's a light on down here!" A reply came. "You think that little slut came down here?" Alex twisted in Mulder's arms, struggling to free himself, his face dark with anger. 

"He sure as hell didn't kill the lab workers. I think we've got ourselves a rat in the hole!" There was a burst of gunfire. "Come out, or I'll throw a grenade in!"

Gesturing for Alex to stay put, Mulder slowly rose to his feet, and came out of the small room. He held his hands up, and cautiously walked forward, into the view of the two men. 

"Well, Agent Mulder, isn't it? Your time has just run out." He raised his gun. Alex flung himself sideways out of the little room, shooting as he moved, and taking out one man. The other swung his gun towards Alex, and fired, even as Mulder lunged forward. Mulder heard Alex scream in sudden agony, then he was grappling with the gunman. 

Alexei watched in desperation as Mulder fought with the gunman, and Alex lay unmoving on the floor, scarlet blood blossoming on his shoulder. A shadow moved unexpectedly on the stairs nearby. Gurney's locker was nearby, and Alexei fled desperately towards it.

The man slammed his gun against Mulder's face, cracking against his cheekbone, while Mulder's hands clawed at his neck. He hung on grimly as the blows continued, then , just as his strength began to give out, the choking hold succeeded, and the man fell forwards on top of him, dead. Dizzy, he managed to move out from under the body, then grim laughter came. 

"You lose!" The third man's gun was aimed directly at him. The gunman opened his mouth to speak, and blood sprayed out. He toppled forward, as the clone raised the hammer again, and brought it down yet again with a sickening crunch on his skull.

//Oh yes, he knew how much a hammer hurt. Gurney had used it once on his hand for touching the chemicals//

Alexei stared at the body of the man he had killed, and fell to his knees, sobbing into his hands. 

"Alexei!", Mulder yelled, "Alexei, you've got to help me." He saw the haunted look in the young clone's face. "Come on. Alex is shot! We need to get him to a hospital!" Those words galvanised the clone as no other could have, and the two men carefully began to carry the body of a deeply unconscious Alex Krycek up the countless stairs.

********

Alex leaned his head back against the firm leather upholstery of Mulder's couch. With his one good arm in a sling, due to the hole shot in his shoulder, he didn't have many options open to him. Staying in Mulder's apartment, with two caring attendants to look after him wasn't the worst of situations. To be honest, he wasn't sure why Mulder had let him stay. But being near Mulder wasn't something he was going to complain about. His only worry was Alexei. Something had been worrying the young clone for the past two days, and Alex didn't know what it was. Mulder had noticed it too. 

 Alexei gently fed his double a meal of chicken and fries, piece by piece. It was the clone's favourite and both of his companions had let him choose from the take away menu that evening. When he had fed Alex, the clone sank down next to him on the couch. Mulder and Alex exchanged glances.

"Alexei, " Mulder's words were kind, "What's wrong? "Young eyes miserably turned away from him.

"I was bad! You won't want me any more!"

Mulder pulled him close then. "I'll always want you, 'Lexy. I promise." And Mulder was surprised to realise that he meant it. Alexei wasn't just a copy of Krycek, he was sweet and loving, and utterly adorable. Something Mulder would never feel in a relationship with Alex, nor would he have wanted it that way. He stood in front of the seated clone, and wrapped his arms around Alexei's shoulders, and the clone wept quietly against his chest. Mulder soothed him gently, then irresistibly buried his face in the dark hair. Alexei lifted his face, and they kissed; long, slow and sensual. Mulder's tongue softly probed the sweet mouth. He felt himself catch fire, *wanting* the eager young body against his. Alexei began to rub himself enthusiastically against Mulder, and pulled open his shirt buttons. He slid his arms under the cotton material so that his arms were touching bare skin. Small kisses began to work their way down towards Mulder's waistband, where eager fingers were already fumbling.

Alex Krycek watched his other self seducing/being seduced by Mulder. Alexei was so beautiful. The clone momentarily lifted his head to look at Alex, and he met the look with a smile of encouragement. He wasn't exactly in a position to join in, however much fun it looked. And Alexei had certainly widened his sense of humour where Mulder was concerned. He lay back on the couch and closed his eyes, and his weakness sent him drifting into sleep within moments. Seeing how pale and exhausted Alex was, Mulder lifted the clone to his feet. He slid an arm around the firm muscled waist. "Shhh. Alex is asleep, lets go next door where we won't wake him!"

He twined his hand with Alexei's and tugged him into the bedroom. He pushed the clone onto the bed, and carefully began to undress him. With a sudden giggle, Alexei wriggled out of his clothes extra fast, and lay down on the bed, looking up at Mulder through long dark lashes. He was beautiful. Mulder wanted him so much. 

He pushed Alexei onto his back, and gently slid up the firm body, until he was on top of the clone, looking down into wide green eyes. He placed one hand on either side of Alexei's face and leaned into him for a delicate kiss, feeling the pliant mouth yield to his. The half-astonished, wondering gaze of the clone as he was held and his mouth was explored, made Mulder feel so protective. A pair of strong young arms went around his shoulders, pulling him closer. Mulder could feel Alexei's arousal, and reached down to grasp the young man's rapidly hardening cock. Alexei whimpered in need, as Mulder's hand began to stroke him in long firm strokes. 

Mulder decided that turn about was fair play, and leaning forward, began to work his lips across the warm body, trailing wetness with his tongue along the firm stomach muscles. Alexei looked startled, then enraptured, when Mulder began to work on his erection with his mouth, reciprocating what the clone had first done to him. The young man's moans were captivating.

"Love you Foxy! So good to me! Never done this before!" From his reactions, Mulder realised that Alexei must have always been used, one way or another, during sex. Never loved. No one had ever acted just to please him. Well that would change tonight. Taking careful note of the things that Alexei seemed to like, Mulder used all his considerable skill to bring the younger man to the heights of rapture. 

Mulder stroked the side of the clone's face again, and this time, slipped two of his fingers into Alexei's mouth. His lover immediately started to suckle on them enthusiastically, and Mulder saw him grin. He moved his slick fingertips down between Alexei's legs, beginning to tease him open.

"Like this game, Foxy!" The young man's hips began to thrust against Mulder's probing fingers, he was sobbing with desire already. Mulder's own desire was beginning to make itself felt, then the clone's hand closed around him, and he almost screamed at the instinctive skill, that Alexei used to milk him. Cool fingers were already using his own precum to slicken his cock further. 

"Please, oh please." Alexei begged. "Do anything for you. Please Foxy. Need you!" 

Mulder pushed himself slowly inside Alexei's trembling body, working himself slowly into the sweet ass. He wrapped his arms around the clone, hugging him close, then began to move in as slow a rhythm as he could, working his lover into a frenzy. He fought against the urge to pound into the utterly open body against his, fucking Alexei long and slow, until the clone's head arched back, and he screamed, the white fire of his orgasm setting off fireworks in Mulder's body as his own control vanished.

Afterwards, he held Alexei close, feeling his heartbeat, the gentle sound of his breathing. Alexei sighed softly, nestled back into Mulder's arms. "You alright?" Mulder murmured against the back of Alexei's neck.

"Mmmm Foxy. Feel so good. I love you!" Mulder smiled against his cheek. They lay that way for what could have been minutes, or hours, time didn't really register to Mulder.

Alexei whispered the next words, but they shocked his lover utterly. "Going to hit me now? Sorry I'm a slut. Didn't mean to make you fuck me." He cried softly, green eyes filled with a mixture of longing, misery and resigned acceptance. Mulder felt a hot blast of rage at the suffering implied in the few quavering words. "Who hit you, Alexei? Who made you think this was bad?"

Huge miserable eyes bright with unshed tears watched him, bewildered. "Everyone at the lab said so!" He wailed then, "I'm bad! I made you do it!" A moan of suffering. "That's all I'm good for. *Father* said. Dirty little fuck! Can't even do that right. Only good to kick."

"'Those bastards!" Mulder wanted to kill something right then. It was probably just as well the objects of his hatred were already dead. He felt a surge of compassion for the vulnerable body lying next to him, as well as the need to protect him. And Fox Mulder pulled Alexei close, buried his head in the dark hair and held him close. "I'll never hurt you Alexei, You're not a slut! You're mine, and no one's ever going to hurt you again." A young face turned to him, and he kissed Alexei softly on his forehead. Alexei didn't really understand hope, but something fierce in Mulder's expression, oddly, didn't frighten him. Instead it made a spark of warmth inside him, that he clung to as his body finally slept, cradled in strong arms.

*******

Alex Krycek woke as the early morning light filtered through the blinds into his face. He wriggled his shoulder, feeling the stiffness in the sore muscles, and sighed at the discomfort. How had he managed to talk Mulder into this anyway? He felt a stir of hope at how readily Mulder had accepted having his former kidnapper stay in his apartment. The touch of cool fingers against his sore shoulder startled him, then he relaxed, as they began to carefully rub the injured muscles, gently soothing away the soreness. He hadn't seen Alexei sitting there in the shadows, watching over him.

"Did you enjoy yourself last night, Alexei?" Alex inquired.

The clone leaned forward, to rest his forehead against his double's. "Don't understand Foxy!" He sounded confused. "Love him so. Need him... Need you..."

"What's got you all mixed up, Alexei?" He knew every expression on that familiar face, including the vaguely distressed look that the clone now wore.

"At the Lab they fucked me and I liked it!" Alex hissed in shock. "Felt so good. But they called me bad names afterwards. Hurt me. Told me how dirty I was to like it so much. Worthless piece of ass!" Alexei was crying. "Does Foxy think I'm bad now?"

Alex reacted much as Mulder had done the night before, with a mixture of anger and protectiveness. He awkwardly fumbled his arm out of the restrictive sling, and winced at how stiff and sore it was. He lifted his arm and pulled Alexei against him, soothing the bewildered young man. "You're not bad, Alexei. Life's just dealt you as bad a hand as the rest of us. We're all pretty fucked up!" He felt Alexei slowly relax against him as his terrors didn't materialise.

"You look as though you're feeling better Alex" Mulder watched them from the doorway to his bedroom. He was wearing a towel round his waist, and nothing else, a sight which made Alex suddenly feel about ten degrees hotter. Oh yes, he could get in a fever about this man. The clone lifted his head from Alex's chest, and smiled shyly. Mulder grinned openly, which Alexei took as encouragement to approach him. Face to face with the clone, Mulder tilted the younger man's chin up and slowly kissed him. Alexei flung his arms round Mulder, and hugged him tightly. Which action, Alex noted with no small interest, threatened to dislodge the skimpy towel.

It was a rather awkward moment for Scully to walk in.

"Mulder! What the hell!" Two sets of eyes, brown and green turned towards her in stunned surprise. 

Mulder felt Alexei shrink against him, arms tightening around his waist.

"Mulder! Why are you kissing Alex Krycek? In a towel!"

Someone hidden from her view on the couch guffawed. Alex leaned forward so Scully could see him. "He's not, Scully!" Her expression became even more astounded. 

Realising that Mulder wasn't scared, Alexei relaxed. "Hi! I'm Alexei." He smiled at the transfixed woman, guileless and sweet natured. "Are you Foxy's friend too?"

"Difficult question!" She said coldly. "Well... Foxy?"

Mulder grimaced. "They've been helping me with a case, Scully!"

Alexei smiled innocently. "I'm not a slut!" he said brightly

Mulder groaned, and covered his face with one hand, shaking his head. Alex began to snigger, and somewhere along the line Mulder's expression became so irresistible that a slight smile even appeared on Scully's face. Alexei smiled at the two of them sweetly, then he hugged Mulder again.

"Can we play later, Foxy?" Scully raised an eyebrow.

Mulder looked at Alexei then at Scully. "Didn't you know I have a weakness for beautiful men Scully?" he said softly. To her surprise, Scully saw Alex Krycek's face light up at that. Mulder pulled the clone closer, and slowly, deliberately, kissed him again. "Oh yes, 'Lexy, whatever you want!" The overjoyed expression on Alexei's face made him forget his embarrassment.

Mulder sighed. Scully looked as though she wanted to shoot all three of them, if only she could decide which one to pick first. "Your explanation had better be good, *Foxy*, or I'm putting that Krycek under arrest right now!" She pointed at the one armed version. 

Mulder gently squeezed Alexei's shoulders. "Why don't you go shower, 'Lexy, then you can pick out something of mine to wear." The clone smiled at him trustingly, and placidly did as he was told. Mulder sank down onto the couch next to Alex, not really caring that he wasn't exactly dressed for visitors. He brushed his damp hair back with his hand and looked intently at his irritated partner. "Alex found one of the consortium's gene labs, Scully, and rescued our harmless young friend there. He decided to bring me in on it, but we had to fight our way out of the place."

Scully scowled. "Of all the irresponsible things to get mixed up in! Secret experimental labs and Alex Krycek! Both top of my *avoid* list. Didn't it occur to you to get back-up?"

 Mulder glanced briefly at Alex. The younger man met his gaze, flushed slightly. Mulder decided not to enlighten Scully about the time he was in handcuffs. He still hadn't resolved his feelings about *that* yet. "I guess not!" he said dismissively. "Still, I managed to pick up some of their records. I need someone with a medical background to check them out though."

She gave him a blistering glance. "Mulder, you are going to owe me big time for this!"

He tried to smile optimistically at her, but somehow her forbidding expression only made him feel that he was making a spectacle of himself. At least she hadn't commented on his rather compromising behaviour with Alexei. Then he saw her mouth open to do just that. "If I smoked, I'd want a cigarette now!" he commented to the world in general.

The clone popped his head round the door to the bedroom. Evidently he had heard the last remark. "Ugh! No, Foxy! Nasty, dirty smelly stuff! Even smells rotten when you fuck!" Scully blushed. 

"You shouldn't talk about that in front of Scully, Alexei. She might not like it." Alex spoke in gentle reproach. 

Brilliant green eyes sparkled at her. "Sorry!" Alexei bowed his head, then gave her his devastating puppy dog impression. He spoiled the effect by suddenly grinning mischeviously at her when Alex wasn't looking. "Nasty old man who came to visit the Lab smoked!" the clone muttered.

Three sets of eyes were suddenly fixed on him, and surprised, Alexei blushed. "What!" Scully said. Green eyes widened. "Tell us about the old man, Alexei!"

The clone shrugged. "Often came. Stayed overnight, went into tunnels, talked a lot with *father*. Laughed when he saw me. Liked me so much that *father* made me please him. Nasty taste of smoke though!" Alexei looked sickened. So did his audience, though for different reasons.

"Bastard!" Alex hissed. "I'll kill him if I ever meet him again."

"You can stand in line!" Mulder rose from the couch and slammed his fist against the wall. 

Scully looked at the clone, who seemed faintly scared by the two men's reactions. "Was I bad?" he whispered. 

"No Alexei, he was." She kept her voice calm and soothing. "Is that all you remember? This is important. Can you recall anything he said?" 

The clone thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "Yes! I had to memorise something he told me. What I had to say if I ever met Alex! I forgot until now."

//If you ever meet Krycek, tell him how you entertained me. He makes a good fucktoy! And tell him we had more than one use for his DNA!//

End of part II   
Episode 3 to follow soon. 

\--   


 

* * *

 

27 Nov 98  
TITLE Double Trouble III - Alliance (1/1)  
AUTHOR Megaera  
DATE November 1998  
E-MAIL   
FEEDBACK Always welcome  
DISTRIBUTION Any time any place anywhere.  
RATING NC-17   
CONTENT WARNING m/m sex Violence  
CATEGORY M/K  
SPOILERS After the Red and Black. Xtro II, An obscure Nick Lea film with lots of rippling muscles, in which our hero plays a young soldier called Baines.  
KEYWORDS Clones, Mind fucks  
SUMMARY A continuing series about Alex and his clones.   
DISCLAIMER I don't own any character from the X-Files, I'm only borrowing them for my own entertainment and hopefully, other peoples. No copyright infringement is intended. Mr Carter please don't take offence at my use of your beautiful characters.  
COMMENTS Thanks for the encouragement, especially C. King who contributed several ideas, and Orithain.

* * *

Double Trouble III  
By Megaera  


************

Baines had been given yet another shitty assignment. Join the dirty tricks detail of some secret government troubleshooter, and generally follow orders. Do every filthy job he was given and clean up all the man's messes. In general, help keep the stupid fuck out of the spotlight. By all accounts, his new boss was a mean son of a bitch, into a thousand different espionage and surveillance affairs. He was supposed to have the dirt on most of the important people in Washington, and was a dangerous man to cross.

All this, concealed within nicotine stained hands and an ageing body. The amount his new boss was reputed to smoke would give cancer to an elephant. And those hands had a reputation for amusing themselves among his younger colleagues. Not a *nice* individual then. 

Baines turned up at the assigned place, at the specified time, to present himself to Cancerman. He'd worked with Ven and Sigurd before, both good men with CIA backgrounds. So seeing them waiting for him, he felt quite confident that he would have someone to watch his back on this assignment. Ven jerked his thumb at the side door of the building. "Third office on the left, Baines." The young man walked into the shadowed room indicated, and found his aging boss sitting on a black leather chair, sipping a whisky, and watching what looked like a war movie.

Cold eyes turned to inspect the latest recruit. A flicker of surprise seemed to cross the worn face. "So, Baines, you've been recommended to me as a man who can handle trouble."

"Yeah, well. I've done four years combat training and a lot of army special ops"

"I like your face Baines. You've got a job! Tell your two colleagues to step in here a moment, I have a little job for you." 

When the three men were gathered in front of him, Cancerman smiled in anticipation. "There's a man I want bringing here. He works for the F.B.I. and his name is Fox Mulder. The details are in the file." He passed Ven a document. "You can be rough with him, but don't kill him. He's quite important to my plans." The three men turned to leave. "By the way, Baines, what's your first name?"

The young soldier turned. "My name is Al."

As the dark haired young man closed the door, the Cigarette Smoking Man contemplated the future with more than a little amusement.

********

Scully was furious. She slammed the report down on her desk, and indignant eyes glared at Mulder, as if all of this was his fault. "At least a dozen healed rib fractures, almost as many mended breaks in finger and arm bones. Three deliberate cigarette burns on one thigh, and it's a miracle he hasn't contracted any sexually transmitted diseases." She turned to look at Alexei, who watched her apprehensively. Scully had insisted on giving the clone a full medical check-up, and was outraged at the pattern of systematic abuse she had uncovered. "From what he says, it's been going on for about three years, he can't remember much before then. I can't find any signs of genetic anomalies. He *is* absolutely identical to Alex in every respect."

Mulder turned to look at the anxious young face. "It's alright, 'Lexy, Scully's just worried about you." His reassurance cheered the young man, and he advanced towards Mulder, flung his arms around the agent, and hugged him tightly. Mulder returned the embrace.

"I forgot to mention," Scully said dryly. "He's uneducated. He has virtually no self-esteem, and it's a miracle he's so sweet natured. Oh, and I wasn't neglecting the fact that he has a very well developed sexual appetite!" She eyed Alexei, who grinned back at her, then he abruptly sat on Mulder's lap. He winked at Scully.

Alexei had this disturbing ability, Mulder had noticed, to make him blush whenever Scully was around. Scully smiled encouragingly at Alexei, heading him off before he could involve Mulder in one of his mischievous little games. Alexei was developing quite a sense of humour where Mulder was concerned, now that he had found a place where he felt safe and happy. 

"Alexei, you can stay here for a while and try out some programmes on my computer." The clone's face fell in disappointment. Scully was no fun! She intended to test his reading and number skills, which were about what you would expect from a couple of years of Sesame Street, when someone could be bothered to sit him down in front of the t.v.

Mulder loosened his grip on Alexei's waist, and the young man stood up. With a tentative smile, he leaned in and kissed Mulder softly. Fun was one thing, but displays of affection were something he found strange and unfamiliar. Mulder ruffled his lover's hair. "Be good for Scully, I'll hear about it if you don't." The sweetly innocent response to Mulder's advice was a sudden big hug.

Mulder was still smiling twenty minutes later, when he arrived at his apartment. It was just him and Alexei there at the moment, the instigator of all of this mayhem, Alex Krycek himself, was hunting up a lead on the other side of the country. Alexei's message had galvanised him more than anything else could have. He had gone off to try and hunt down the black lunged bastard and challenge him to explain his remarks. His only doubt had been for Alexei's welfare. Mulder had been more than a little annoyed with Alex, as if he would let harm come to the beautiful clone. With a resigned sigh, Alex had given in. 

"Look after him Mulder. I guess he's my kid brother."

 Mulder's eyes had sparkled with amusement. "Maybe I ought to look after you too, Ratboy!" And Alex had turned, grabbed at Mulder's lapel, and had pulled him in for a fiery, passionate kiss.

"Keep it hot for me, Mulder!" Laughing, he went out the door, leaving Mulder more than a little confused at his conflicting emotions.

******

Mulder leaned back on the couch, trying to concentrate on reading the latest UFO report from Florida. He was expecting Alexei back soon, and he had decided to take his lover to the local Chinese take-away. His own cooking skills were notoriously bad. He heard a knock at the door and sighed. One of the first things he and Scully had done was to teach Alexei how to find the apartment, and how to use a cab. He could now travel relatively safely around the city, though he kept losing his key.

Mulder opened the front door, and stared at the clone. He had stolen an old army jacket from somewhere. Next on the list of priorities. Teach him not to steal! Last week, he had come home from the supermarket with a big packet of M&M's in his pocket. Stolen of course, as Alexei had little sense of personal property.

Mulder reached out and grabbed the clone. "Alexei, where the hell did you steal the jacket from?" Astonished eyes watched him warily. "Oh, never mind. Come here!" He pulled the young man close, and kissed him warmly. There was a momentary resistance, then Alexei's arms wound around his neck, and he pushed Mulder fiercely back against the wall, tongue thrusting aggressively into Mulder's mouth. They finally broke apart, breathless. Green eyes looked amused. Mulder was a little astonished by the younger man's sudden, passionate assault, so different from his usual tentative advances. The young man's breath was warm against his ear.

"Sorry, Mulder!" The voice that spoke was both cynical and amused, with a very uncharacteristic Mid-Western accent. The agent gasped out loud, then a fist hammered into his stomach. Even as he doubled over in agony, a knee drove into his face. He tasted blood briefly. Then there was nothing.

******

When Mulder was next aware of the world, he was conscious that his head was aching. He was in the back of a moving car, handcuffed again. He groaned, and his head was pulled upwards by the hair. Intense green eyes inspected him coolly. "Hey Ven. Our friend is starting to wake up!"

"Uh.... Why do you like me in handcuffs so much, Alex?" Mulder slurred the words, disoriented. His head fell sideways against a warm, strong body, and he concentrated on trying to breath without throwing up. 

"Say, Baines, how did he know your name?"

"How the fuck should I know! He thought I was someone else at the apartment. Some weird coincidence, I guess!"

Mulder tried to process the conversation.

//Not Alex. Not Alexei. Then who? Oh god, there were three of them!//

His head was aching again, just thinking about it. The world seemed to slide in and out of focus. He began to feel *so* sick. He moaned. Cool fingers lifted his head again. "Sick.... Please Alex.... Stop the car!"

"Hey Ven, he's gonna puke!" Then Mulder was on his knees on the ground, with no clear idea of getting there. Vomiting helplessly. Familiar arms steadied him, wiped his mouth. Gently, his head was tilted upwards, and he was aware of concerned scrutiny. "He's concussed!" Arms lifted him, when it became clear that his legs were refusing to work properly. He clung tightly to the familiar body as he was guided gently down onto the back seat of the car. The world greyed out.

****** Something cool pressed against Mulder's forehead, and fresh, clean water dribbled into his mouth. Stirring feebly, he managed to prop himself up on one elbow, so he could drink from the proffered water. Green eyes watched him with impersonal concern. He realised, looking around at his prison, that he was in a bare, white room, with a bunk on one side, and no windows. He was still handcuffed. "Thanks, Alex." The response came automatically. 

The young man shook his head in puzzlement. "How the hell do you know my name?" 

"That'll be all, Baines!" The Cigarette smoking man instructed. With a shrug, the young man left. "Interesting how they all gravitate to you Mulder. I wonder if it's genetic? Like the survival traits he has. Do you know how determined they are to survive, doing the filthiest things if need be. Like your little slut! Selling himself for food and a bed to sleep in." He smiled. "Even mine!" He laughed cruelly. "Your one armed friend will come after you, I left him a few clues. When we catch him, we can put him where he belongs, in our experimental facility. We need the purest strain you see. He really is unique, his cells are hundreds of times easier to clone than a normal humans, but errors still creep in." The Cigarette smoking man kicked Mulder suddenly, in the ribs, and the agent moaned in pain. "I think I'll have his other arm amputated, to make him more manageable." Chuckling, he left.

If Mulder could have killed him then, he would have been a happy man. But all he could do was writhe helplessly against the handcuffs that held him, desperately trying to escape. In the end, he gave up, but not before his wrists were sore and chaffed by the metal. He spent an uncomfortable night on the bunk, the room was cold, and there was a dull ache behind his eyes that wouldn't seem to go away. He woke from a restless doze to find green eyes watching him, disturbingly familiar. Mulder tried to lever himself into a sitting position, and moaned at the stabbing pain in his head.

 "You want some Tylenol for that?" Mulder managed to nod briefly. He was gently held upright, and was given pills and water. After that, the eyes turned back to him in puzzlement. "Does he really look that much like me? Your lover, I mean." 

//He didn't know then.//

"You're like twins!" Mulder hesitated. "You're part of one of their experiments, they'll use you and then they'll get rid of you, like the rest of your.... lookalikes. Listen to me. Please Alex...." Shaking his head as he left the room, the soldier decided he had better not get involved. The Cigarette smoking man was not a man you wanted as an enemy! 

*******

When Alexei let himself into Mulder's apartment, he was expecting to find his lover, the one man in the world, apart from Alex, who believed in him. But the apartment was dark and cold. He found the light switch and clicked it on. And saw the spatters of blood from Mulder's cut face. Alexei hugged himself in distress, his mind numbed by the enormity of the problem he faced. But not for long. The door burst open and two men pointed guns at him. "Get up, you're coming with us!" And Alexei let himself be led away, unresisting, because he had been trained to obey all his life and didn't know any other ways to help himself.

*******

"Hey Baines! You wanna see what we brought in from Washington!" Whatever it was, Ven was greatly amused by it. The young soldier walked through to the rec room and stopped, amazed. A young man sat on the edge of one of the chairs, his hands cuffed lightly in front of him. Wide, guileless eyes looked fearfully at his captors and a tear crept down one slightly stained cheek.

"Son of a bitch!" Baines had never seen anything so incredible in his life. The guy was his totally identical copy, down to the colour of his eyes, and the parted full lips. As the stranger heard his voice, the green eyes swung towards him, and the captive gasped. Perhaps the most disconcerting thing though, was the sudden flare of hope in the young eyes as they watched him move into the room.

Mulder lay sprawled on the bunk, handcuffed, when Alexei came into the room. He ran over to his lover and hesitantly reached out a hand to touch Mulder's shoulder. Mulder lifted his head, revealing a spectacular dark bruise on his forehead, and a swollen lip. Mulder tried to take in what he was seeing. 

"Foxy?" A gentle voice inquired. "You O.K?"

"Oh shit! Alexei, get out of here. Now!" 

"Too late!" The one called Ven laughed. Alexei lifted up his wrists, to show Mulder the handcuffs he wore, and Mulder realised for the first time that the vulnerable clone was just as much a prisoner as he was. "You may as well shoot that one!" Sigurd spoke to Ven, brutal as ever. "He's the wrong one anyway. We're after the one armed one! He's just a little whore they used at the secondary laboratory!"

"What! And stop me having a little fun with him!" Baines glared at his colleague. "How often do you meet your twin? I want to know what makes him tick!" Grumbling, the man put his gun away. "You take responsibility, Baines!" With a warning glance at the two prisoners, Baines went to report to his boss.

After their captors had left, Alexei made himself comfortable leaning against Mulder so that his head could rest in Mulder's lap. "Is he a good guy Foxy? The other Alex?" 

"I really don't know, 'Lexy. Maybe he doesn't know himself!"

******

Baines sat in the rec room thinking about what had happened to him lately. The insane man locked up downstairs who seemed to think *he* was a victim of the Smoker. And the kid, his ?twin, with those big innocent eyes and cute face. The world was going crazy. Try and make Baines a victim and they would soon find out how much of a mistake that was!

Ven came into the room, dragging the source of his doubts, Alexei. He pushed the young man forward, and Alexei fell, and lay sobbing, clutching his bruised arm. "What gives?" Baines looked in puzzlement at their prisoner.

"The Boss wants some privacy for a few minutes with Mulder. You get to look after this!" He nudged Alexei in the ribs with the toe of his boot, a look of contempt on his face. Ven smiled nastily as he left. He had an idea of what the Boss wanted with their handsome guest, and it was always entertaining to watch.

Baines reached out and pulled Alexei to his feet. Scared eyes watched him. "Didn't anyone ever teach you to look after yourself?" Baines looked in exasperation at the grubby face and the runny nose. Sighing, he went into the washroom and grabbed a damp cloth. It was the work of moments to clean up the young man's face. Oddly enough, the gesture seemed to relax Alexei a little. He tried a tentative smile at Baines. 

"I knew you were a good guy!" Alexei's voice was quiet, but his eyes were shining in a hero worshipping way that Baines found totally disturbing. 

//Shit. They were both crazy//

"You hungry?" Baines took refuge in routine. The young man nodded vigorously and Baines pulled open the fridge. 

"Ice cream!" Alexei shouted out, suddenly joyful. Huge eyes begged Baines, and with a sigh he gave in. "Not exactly lunch, kid!" But Alexei was too busy to reply, trying to stuff his face with Mint-Choc Surprise, a spoon held clumsily between cuffed hands.

Half an hour, and a tub of ice cream later, Baines decided it was time to take his charge back to his cell. God help him, he actually liked the little runt. Better not make things any harder, if he had to kill his double. He opened the door to the cell, hearing voices inside, and walked into hell. Mulder was lying on his bunk, crying helplessly, as Ven systematically worked him over, casually battering the agent with his huge fists. Baines heard Alexei give a small whimper as he realised what was happening.

"That's enough! I think he's been softened up enough now, Ven. He should be quite quiet when I use him."

Baines had a good idea of what his boss was going to do, he had quite a reputation for it. One of his more extreme forms of extracting information. Then, while his attention was on the poor sap who was his bosses' latest conquest, Alexei wriggled out of his grasp and ran forward. He dropped to his knees before the Cigarette Smoking Man and it was as if a mask dropped over his face. A sweet smile at the black lunged bastard. "Hi, I'm Alexei. You were the one that was good to me!" He began to nuzzle at the Smoker's crotch, and when he wasn't repelled immediately, brought his hands up to pull at the Bosses' zipper. The Smoker was already erect, aroused by his games with Mulder. Incredibly, the young man went down on the thick cock and began to give him head. By the Smoker's response to Alexei, the young man was quite talented in that area. Within a few minutes, he climaxed, and Alexei swallowed what he was offered, with every sign of enjoyment. 

"You're a good little slut, aren't you!" The smoker stroked the young man's head, sounding sated. "Next time Mulder! Oh, Baines, have him cleaned up!" As his boss left, Baines grabbed the medical kit, and went to tend Mulder yet again. Warm fingers gripped his shoulder. A familiar face close to his. "Is he hurt bad?" Alexei looked so worried. Baines examined the semi-conscious agent. "He's been beaten up pretty badly, but I don't think there's any permanent damage." 

Baines spent about fifteen minutes tending Mulder, then stood up to leave. His army training had included extensive medical instruction, mostly in trauma injuries, so he was pretty confident Mulder would be alright. Then Alexei ran up to Baines and flung his cuffed arms around him as best he could, in a big hug. "Love you Baines. So good to Foxy!" Tentatively, unused to close interaction with others, Alex Baines returned the hug. The kid had done something *he* would feel disgust at, just to save his lover from the Bosses' attentions. Till next time. Sighing, he broke away from the oddly comforting circle of Alexei's arms.

//Don't get involved!//

*******

As it happened, he was on duty the next time, when the Smoker's lust got the better of him. He and Ven headed into the cell, past the soldier, and made straight for Mulder. The agent whimpered, knowing by now what they intended. Alexei cowered in one corner staring at them. Ven grabbed Mulder and held him down as the Smoker began to unfasten his belt. Mulder struggled feebly, still far too weak from his various ordeals to put up much of a fight. Which was of course the idea. The Smoker pulled out his big cock and advanced towards Mulder, as Ven forced Mulder's pants down and held his legs apart. No one expected Alexei to move, still less to lunge forward and kick the Cigarette Smoking Man as hard as he could between the legs. With a howl of agony, the boss doubled over, clutching his privates, then toppled forward onto the floor. Enraged, Ven reached out and grabbed Alexei forcing his arm back painfully in an armlock. Baines ran into the room just in time to see Ven's arm circle round Alexei's throat and start to squeeze the life out of him. He caught a glimpse of terror on the kid's face, and one arm feebly reached out to Baines.

//Oh shit! Decision time!//

Not really a decision at all then. He pulled out his gun and shot Ven between the eyes.

"Damn it kid, I hope you're worth it!" Baines helped the young man to his feet, and was again treated to that special adoring smile. "Alexei! If you want to get out of here, you'll have to carry Mulder, he can't make it on his own! Can you do that?" The kid nodded, his throat a little sore to speak properly. Alexei slid his arm around Mulder, when Baines unlocked their cuffs. Alexei was surprisingly strong, and managed to keep up quite well, as Baines led them quickly out of the installation. Mulder was watching him warily, as if he didn't quite trust Baines. Hardly surprising. Baines wasn't quite sure if he trusted himself at the moment. 

Sigurd stepped out in front of Baines. "What the hell are you doing Baines?" The young soldier launched himself forward, not daring a gunshot in that part of the installation, as there were other security stations nearby. One fist hammered into Sigurd's gut, so fast it surprised the big lummox, even though he was expecting it. Follow through with a hammering blow with the elbow, a kick under the chin with the metal tip of one boot, and a final yank of his fallen opponent's neck upwards to break it. The whole in less than ten seconds. He grinned in pleasure, killing was an art, and there was always room for improvement, but that result was up to his high standards. Both of his companions were staring at him in astonishment. He flashed the grin at them. "Pretty good, huh!"

 Looking in that moment as young and desperate for approval as Alexei. 

"Er.. Yeah." Mulder was beginning to have serious doubts about his new friend. What the hell had they trained this one to be? The Terminator?

*******

Outside the installation, which appeared to be a hospital from the outside, the three managed to steal a car. Another one of Baines many talents. To which Alexei paid a lot of attention, until Mulder nudged him in the ribs. The alarm just started to sound in the distance as they drove off. 

After about three hours driving, Baines pulled up at a scruffy looking Motel and went inside. He came out with the key to a chalet and the three men gratefully went inside to clean up a little. The first thing Mulder did when he went into the room was to ring up the number that Alex had given him, and leave an urgent message with Krycek's message service. He left the address of their motel, and begged Alex to get in touch immediately. Then he lay down on the bed, exhausted and sore, and slept for about sixteen hours. 

*******

What eventually woke Mulder was the sound of squabbling in the bathroom.

"Give it back you little shit!"

"Won't!"

"Give it back or I'll punch your lights out!"

A giggle. "Gotta catch me first!"

Alexei almost collided with Mulder as the agent made his way towards the source of the sounds. The clone hastily bundled something behind his back with one hand. The other reached out to touch Mulder, gently stroked his hair. Mulder grinned. Alexei was so transparent when he was up to something. Then those full lips found his in a kiss, and he forgot about Alexei's silly games. Reality was the warmth of the willing body against his, and the strong young arms that pushed him back onto the bed. Wriggling out of his clothes, Alexei moved so that his body was astride the older man's, and he laughed mischeviously at the delightful present he found waiting in Mulder's lap. Mulder, though bruised, was more than capable of enjoying this particular activity. Mulder closed his eyes and relaxed onto the soft bedcovers, more than content to let Alexei minister to him. That the young man would enjoy every minute of their sex only made it twice as good.

Baines emerged from the bathroom, seriously annoyed at Alexei, who had stolen his property. And stopped, staring at the sight of Alexei sitting on top of Mulder, both were naked. As he watched, Alexei impaled himself on Mulder's upraised cock, and started to move his body in a rhythm that brought a groan from the older man. Alexei maintained the slow torturous motion of his hips as he guided the encounter, fully in charge of Mulder's body and his pleasure. 

The clone heard a slight gasp behind him, and turned to look at Baines, who watched disbelieving and, yes, aroused. The clone realised that Baines was blushing! With a cheeky grin, Alexei waved what he had stolen at Baines, then, still maintaining his rhythm, slipped it under one pillow. 

"Huh?" Mulder opened his eyes. Alexei leaned forward and kissed his lover, totally distracting the older man. Mulder closed his eyes again in ecstasy.

Alexei had discovered a new game. Bait Baines! Green eyes watched each other, as Alexei took his pleasure. With delight, Alexei watched Baines' hand creep down unconsciously to rub at the bulge in his pants. Moist lips parted, as Baines suddenly found the room way too hot. Alexei too, was being consumed by the fire he felt inside him. The need became too intense to ignore. He flung his head back and screamed as orgasm took him, of unusual intensity this time. Mulder shuddered beneath him and he too lost control, jetting into his lover's body. Alexei draped his body over Mulder's, fingers clenching round a certain object under the pillow, as he slid into sleep. 

Baines shivered, turned away. The sight of Alexei losing control, the flushed, sated look on the young face afterwards was so disturbing. He tried to put the sight of those two beautiful bodies out of his mind. Four years of intensive combat training had left little room for sexual explorations. And his instructors had preferred that he suppress his natural urges, turn his feelings into aggression. Baines, all appearances being deceptive, was a virgin!

*********

Waiting in this hotel room for Alex Krycek was killing Mulder. Lately he had noticed a tension between his two companions. Alexei seemed to find it hard not to snigger when Baines was around, and the soldier kept giving the other clone smouldering glances, filled with veiled threats. Mulder wished he knew what was going on, but neither man was admitting anything. Sighing, Mulder decided he would try and get a couple of hours sleep.

When Baines saw that Mulder was beginning to doze, he grabbed hold of Alexei. "Where is it? Give it back!"

"No!" 

Baines grabbed Alexei by the front of his shirt and slammed him against the wall. "Do I have to beat it out of you?" Alexei wriggled in his grasp, and unexpectedly leaned forward, kissing Baines hungrily. The soldier gasped and let go, flushing delightfully again. Alexei dived past him, and grabbed the carton of take away Chinese food that had been left overnight on the table. He flicked it at Baines.

As the sauce slowly dripped down his face and hair, Baines wondered how an untrained man could so easily get the better of him. Sighing, he turned to go into the bathroom. He definitely needed a shower to get rid of this mess!

*******

Mulder couldn't sleep. It was too hot and the room had no air conditioning. He sat up and looked around. He could see Baines sitting outside, through the window, in his old army jacket. And the sounds in the bathroom indicated that Alexei was in the shower. Now that sounded good! Pulling off his t-shirt and pants, he walked into the little room, and took in the sight of his beautiful lover, wet and gorgeous, as he soaped his body. 

He stepped into the cool water behind the clone, and grasped Alexei's hips. He heard the other man gasp in surprise. "You're so sexy, do you know that?" he murmured in the other mans ear, and lowered his lips to give special attention to the nape of his neck. He began to gently bite and suck on the smooth skin, leaving small, red marks there, a sign of his possession. The younger man moaned, pushing back against him. Mulder slid his hand down the firm body, enjoying the feel of smooth muscles under the skin, and let his fingers stray down to tease the tight entrance. He continued to move his hand round to the rapidly hardening cock, pulling at it, savouring the way it slid through his hands, wet from the shower. He teased the sensitive head, as his other hand began to open up his lover. The other man began to sob, and make small thrusts against Mulder's exploring hand. Instinctively, the young man leaned forward, so that Mulder could enter him more easily, bracing himself against the cool tiles. Mulder pushed his way slowly into his lover's body, enjoying the tightness that enclosed him. The clone moaned again, shivered, and Mulder felt the tension in his body. "Shh baby, it's going to be so good!" He gently began to move inside the sweet body.

Baines hadn't expected Mulder to come near him, wasn't sure how, or if, Mulder had made such a mistake. Surely he thought he was with Alexei? But he didn't want this to stop, wanted to be this close to Mulder. Then the older man was inside him, and filled him with a sensation, half pain and half pleasure. He couldn't stop himself crying out. Mulder's arms went around him, and he whispered words of comfort in the young man's ear. Then Mulder started to move, and something wondrous seemed to explode inside the clone. 

Mulder couldn't stop himself, he started to fuck the clone long and hard. Feeling Alexei arch against him, his body catching and adapting to Mulder's rhythm, spreading himself wider, to make it easier for his lover to move inside him. Then Mulder felt Alexei cry out wildly, flinging his head back in unrestrained rapture, his powerful orgasm driving Mulder to his own peak. 

"My love.... My sweet..." Mulder buried his face in the wet hair, enjoying the coolness of the water as it cascaded over their hot bodies.

"So good...." the clone whispered to him. He leaned back into Mulder's arms. The agent had just blown his mind. At that point he would have done anything for Mulder.

A sweet giggle from the door made both men turn, still tangled up in each others' arms.

Mulder's eyes widened.

//No. It couldn't be...!//

"Gotcha!" Alexei giggled again. He dangled the stolen jacket in front of Baines.

"You little shit!" There was no power to Baines' threat. "That'd better be put back with my things!" He turned to face Mulder, who still looked stunned.

"Baines...."

"Shhh. Don't spoil it!" He leaned forward and kissed Mulder gently. And somehow the older man's arms went up around him and the kiss turned into something more, something white hot and searing, that took away thought and sense, and wasn't what either man had intended.

"WHAT THE HELL!" 

Alex Krycek stood in the doorway, staring at the two men who were involved in a passionate embrace. Mulder's head jerked up, and he stared into the hurt and angry eyes of the man he loved. A look of incredible guilt crossed Alexei's face. Mulder got that sinking feeling, as if his life had just been flushed down the toilet.

//OH FUCK!//

********

End of Double Trouble III (1/1)  
A sequel will follow soon.  
  

 

* * *

 

TITLE Double Trouble IV - (1/1)  
AUTHOR Megaera  
DATE December 21st 1998  
E-MAIL   
FEEDBACK Always welcome  
DISTRIBUTION Any time any place anywhere.  
RATING NC-17   
CONTENT WARNING m/m sex Violence  
CATEGORY M/K  
SPOILERS Xtro II, An obscure Nick Lea film with lots of rippling muscles, in which our hero plays a young soldier called Baines. See a very cute picture of Nick Lea looking much younger, as this character, in a picture from Xtro II at Http://www.nicklea.com/xtro2.htm Any better picture links would be appreciated.  
KEYWORDS. Clones, Angsty  
SUMMARY A continuing series about Alex and his clones.   
DISCLAIMER I don't own any character from the X-Files, I'm only borrowing them for my own entertainment and hopefully, other peoples. No copyright infringement is intended. Mr Carter please don't take offence at my use of your beautiful characters.  
COMMENTS Thanks for the encouragement, Nancy, Andrea Orithain and Nonie. Any deficiencies in motor mechanics are all mine.

* * *

Double Trouble IV  
By Megaera  


************

Mulder had got himself into such deep trouble, he wasn't sure if he would ever get out of it. The man he loved more than anyone else in the world , the one who kept him awake at night, desperate with longing, was walking out the door.

"Alex! Wait!" Mulder grabbed a towel and wrapped it round his waist. He hurried after the other man, leaving the two clones staring after him. 

Baines glared at Alexei. "You just fucked up all our lives kid. Congratulations!" The first and only man who had ever wanted him, had just left him for someone else, and Baines was finding it hard to believe how much that hurt.

Alexei's eyes filled with tears and his lower lip trembled. Then the floodgates opened, and Alexei was sobbing in desperate distress. Baines felt an odd sense of protectiveness towards his vulnerable double, despite his earlier anger. It seemed so natural to reach forward and gather the trembling man into his arms and hold the warm body close to his. Alexei clung to him, and let his head be drawn down onto Baines' shoulder. There was a strange sort of comfort in holding each other, trying to distance themselves from the pain that Mulder seemed destined to cause them. Baines had little experience dealing with the complexity of relationships.

He let Alexei cling to him for a long time, needing the closeness himself. Eventually he reached forward and tilted Alexei's head up towards him. He gently brushed the tears off the smooth skin, looking into emerald eyes. Alexei had wound his arms tightly around Baines' neck, and Baines found himself irresistibly leaning forward, and tasting the sweet lips inches away from his.

Alexei gasped, and clung tighter, fingers winding their way through the soldier's short hair. They both deepened the kiss, bodies instinctively moving closer. Not the fire of Mulder's kisses, but a sweeter, gentler passion. Something like *need* that reached out to both of them, each alone for so long. Baines could so easily lose himself in those loving arms.

It was so hard, too, when they finally moved away from each other. Alexei was staring at him, as if he had never really seen him before. And Baines was beginning to realise exactly who it was who had made him leave everything he had ever known. Not Mulder at all. But for a pair of sweet green eyes that had looked deep inside him and found something beyond a hired killer. 

Baines hastily dressed, and decided that he would have to try and talk to his enigmatic and fascinating original. But he could still feel the pressure of those green eyes watching him, nearby.

"Alexei, you are so beautiful, but don't ever try to trick me again!" Baines warned, his voice hoarse.

The clone nodded, totally unafraid of him now. "Don't call me kid," he whispered, and leaned into Baines, who slid an arm round his waist. 

"C'mon Lexy, lets face the firing squad."

********

Mulder had desperately tried to stop Alex as he started to leave but his pleas fell on stony ground. So eventually, he blocked the doorway with his body to stop Alex from leaving. 

"Don't go Alex, please!"

"Why, Mulder? So I can join your harem?" Alex sounded so bitter. "Go get one of them if you're so hungry for sex, they both seem willing!" 

Mulder felt a sudden fierce anger. It hadn't been his fault that he had ended up in Baines' arms, it had been luck and a bit of Alexei's mischief. "Yeah Alex, I wonder where they got those sex hungry genes from? Or their taste in men!" Then seeing the coldness in the green eyes, he spat out the worst thing he could conceive of, without thinking it through. "Makes it interesting, doing it with you when you can use both arms, you're so much more versatile!"

The look of stunned hurt and confusion on Alex's face told Mulder that he had gone way too far with that last crack.

"You should be happy then," the younger man whispered, and turned away from him. Mulder realised from the shivers that ran through Alex's shoulders that he was crying. The assassin pushed past Mulder and started to open the door.

"No, don't go! I didn't mean that...." Mulder uselessly begged. And Alex's fist connected with his jaw as the younger man charged into him, knocking him off his feet. Alex fell half on top of him, swinging his arm as hard as he could in repeated punches to Mulder's head and chest. The storm of emotion took Mulder completely by surprise, and maybe some part of him thought he deserved it, because other than trying to protect his face, he made no effort to fight back.

There was a gasp from the bathroom doorway, and Baines lunged forward, grabbing Alex and twisting his good arm behind his back, imprisoning him. The assassin desperately struggled, fighting Baines restraining arms, then finally gave up and lay limp and unresisting in his grasp. Alexei came forward, and stared at the two men who provided the only security he had ever known, and who he cared for so much. Then he whimpered softly. "Sorry, sorry, sorry......" His eyes begging them to make it alright again.

"Shut up Alexei! I think it's more than just you, this time." Baines could feel the tremors in Alex's body. He didn't know why, but he felt a sudden pity for his tormented original, the hapless man who had suffered so much. Baines pointed at Mulder, whose nose and mouth were streaming blood. "Alexei, clean him up like I showed you. Do you remember how?" The clone nodded, and led an unresisting Mulder into the bathroom.

Baines looked at his prisoner. "Are you going to fight again if I let you go?" A defeated look and an exhausted shake of the head. Baines released Alex, and guided him to a chair, sitting close to him to forestall any aggression. Haunted green eyes stared back at him.

"You're so like I was before.... this." He gestured at his arm. "I hope you'll be very happy together!" Back to the hostility then.

Baines glared at his double. "Sure! When he leaves me in the middle of a kiss to run after you." He began to laugh softly.

Alex scowled. "So what's the joke? You laughing at me?"

"No!" Baines sounded sad and rueful at the same time. "I was just thinking, it's a hell of a way to start your sex life! If I had known it was going to be this much trouble, I wouldn't have bothered!" 

"What?" Alex said, startled out of his bleak mood.

"Today was my first time," Baines admitted shyly. He blushed, looking suddenly so young.

"Shit!" Alex knew he couldn't hate Baines now, after that admission. "Why haven't you ever...?"

"I wasn't allowed to! Gets rid of aggression. Couldn't let my kill rate drop!" He rose, lithe and graceful to his feet and turned to look at Alexei, who was towing an equally subdued looking Mulder by the hand.

"All done, Lexy?" Baines asked, and Alexei nodded. "Look, we all need to talk, without fists or tears. Can we all manage that?"

"No!" Alex shook his head. "I just want to get out of here. You do what you want." He rose and started to walk away. With a sudden wail, Alexei lunged after him and flung his arms around Alex's neck. Alex grabbed his clone's shoulders, and said harshly, "Decide Alexei, are you coming or staying?"

Desperately, Alexei swung his gaze between his two protectors. And saw who needed him most. "Coming..." he whispered. His eyes begged Mulder to forgive him, but Mulder just turned his face away so that Alexei wouldn't see him cry. The clone was still clinging to Alex as they left the hotel room.

Baines grabbed his kit and followed them, though the invitation hadn't included him. As he left, he turned back to Mulder for a moment. "You are such a stupid fuck! Why did you have to hurt him?" Baines shook his head sadly.

Alex jumped in the hire car he had rented, and moments later, Alexei was sitting in the front seat beside him, green eyes watching him intently. "Put your seat belt on!" Alex said, then turned in surprise as the back passenger door opened and Baines climbed in.

"Did you really think you were going to go off with him, and not me?" Baines grinned disconcertingly. "Now that I'm starting to become curious about you." Alex opened his mouth to tell Baines to get out, then stopped. For a moment, Alexei had been looking at Baines with such open yearning.

//Oh damn! He knew that look so well, because that was the way he had always looked at Mulder. Shit, we're all crazy!//

And as Baines settled into the back seat, there was a protectiveness about him that made Alex Krycek feel, unlooked for, an odd sense of safety..

"Where are we going?" Alexei asked. 

Krycek smiled. "My bolthole."

*******

Alex's hideout was an old warehouse on the edge of a small town, about a hundred and fifty miles out of Washington. It looked old and derelict from the outside, but was securely locked up. There was enough room inside the large entrance to conceal their car. In one end of the warehouse, was a series of rooms that Alex had managed to adapt to living space. It was a bare and cheerless place that did little to raise their spirits. 

Alex rubbed his eyes tiredly. He needed time to think, but Alexei wasn't making things any easier. He was eagerly poking his nose into every corner, giggling as he found some new treasure that he considered fascinating. He seemed to have a wonderful mechanical aptitude, which generally meant investigating things by taking them apart. In the end, Alex just let him, and sank down onto his old couch. Baines had disappeared. Soon quiet descended, as Alexei found something new to occupy his mind for a little longer. Alex dozed. 

*He was in Russia again and they were holding him down.....* 

 The dream he always had when he was under stress and in low spirits. He was crying when he woke, not just for his lost arm, but for the innocence that long gone, and the constant pain and loneliness that seemed to follow him.

"It's alright." His clone sat next to him and tentatively reached out a hand to touch him. "Don't cry, please Alex." Alexei then, Baines wasn't the gentle sort. 

Alex Krycek let go, allowed all of the pain to pour out. He sagged forward into Alexei's arms, crying desperately. Alexei had always been able to offer him comfort, from the moment they first saw each other. A pair of strong arms enfolded him, and he clung to Alexei, needing his gentle consolation. He sobbed as if his heart was broken, which was close to the truth. The clone didn't judge, didn't criticise, just accepted his pain and held him close. And finally cradled his exhausted body as he slipped into uneasy sleep.

Alex awoke hours later, his body deliciously warm in the cool air , from the lean body stretched out beneath his. As he had slept, he had draped himself over Alexei's body in a curiously intimate gesture. So few people had ever had his trust like that. Green eyes looked at him in concern as he lifted his head from the clone's chest. 

"You okay?" A cautious enquiry.

//Was he? He didn't know, but he still felt that yawning emptiness inside him where Mulder had destroyed part of him.//

A tear renewed its track down his face. The clone's hand gently wiped it away.

"We're all together now, Alex. You're not alone any more!" A sweet smile. Fingers gently tilting his chin up, to stare into his eyes. Then the clone was leaning forward to kiss Alex so gently on his lips.

Alex felt the need flare inside him, a desperate longing for human contact. This was so stupid..... But he had to, wanted and needed to answer that kiss. Alexei was so understanding, so accepting. As he deepened the kiss, and wound his one good arm tightly around the clone's neck, Alex felt his body reacting to the other's closeness, becoming hard. He saw the understanding in the green eyes, and found himself moving against his double, shifting so that he was astride the other. And Alexei began to rub himself like a cat against Alex. 

This was crazy, dangerous, and mad.

He couldn't stop.

And when fingers worked at his clothing, reached into grasp his thickening cock, all he could think about was that at least someone wanted him. Alexei's legs spread for him, and he positioned himself with difficulty, trying to balance his body one handed. And gentle fingers were guiding him, easing the work of penetration. He entered Alexei, began to slide into him in long, slow strokes, maintaining enough control to help his partner towards pleasure. To look into a face as similar in its passion, as his own. Green eyes hot with desire, yet innocent enough to still feel the wonder of orgasm. Alexei screaming in wonder and longing, begging Alex to fuck him. In long languorous strokes bringing Alexei to the brink, then timing his rhythm so they could come together, The sweet hot, tightness clenching around him in waves, as he loosed himself into the willing body, then sagged forward to lie on Alexei's chest again.

Alex felt gentle fingers stray down his body in a slow, light caress. He enjoyed the heat of the bare skin against his for a moment longer, then lifted his head to look into Alexei's face. There was welcome there. A radiant smile passed across the younger face, and lazy afterglow lingered in the long lashed emerald eyes.

"I'm glad Baines isn't around," Alex said softly to his clone. "I know you like him, but he's too much like I used to be! So cold and military. I suppose I pity him in a way!"

"Alexei" punched him full on the nose.

Green eyes blazed at him. "You son of a bitch! Couldn't you even bother to find out who you were sleeping with!" Baines had reached the end of his tether. He felt as if he was being assaulted from three different directions. All three of them, Alexei, Mulder and Alex were so disturbing in their individual ways. He couldn't handle his conflicting emotions, the pain of twice being rejected, the consuming desire he felt for their touch. He had to get away, on his own, work this out. He snagged Alex's car keys on his way past, and fled.

*********

Alex felt dazed, and not just from the effects of the punch. He had just slept with Baines, been held by Baines, and been comforted by Baines, and he, like Mulder, had ended up using Baines for his own pleasure. He couldn't seem to get the look of utter betrayal out of his mind, the hurt and anguish in the clone's eyes when Alex had insulted him.

He had been *so* stupid. Baines couldn't be much older or more experienced than Alexei, he had just been trained to be independent, so it wasn't as obvious at first. The look of sweet compassion on his face when he had comforted Alex, and the breathless wonder of his lovemaking.

And the smart right cross that had probably broken his nose, from the amount of blood it was generating.

And finally the errant Alexei appeared, staring in astonishment and a little fear at the bloodstained assassin. Alexei was covered in motor oil, from the look of him, and would probably need to scrub his skin for hours to clean the muck from his hair, face and hands. 

"What the hell have you been doing?" Alex had to say it twice before the clone could understand his nasal tone, he was still clutching his bleeding nose. He gave an annoyed glance at his clone.

Alexei grinned disarmingly. "Playing with the car! It was fun!"

"What! Our car?" A nod. Then Alexei waved something suspiciously familiar at his original. "I couldn't find where to put this bit back, I managed to put the rest together properly, like you told me to if I broke anything. But this must be a spare bit."

//A fucking brake pad! Oh shit! Baines!//

**********

The phone woke Fox Mulder out of a particularly nasty dream. A group of aliens were chasing him, and he kept seeing the back of a familiar leather jacket disappear round the corner just ahead of him, but he could never catch its owner. Groaning, he fumbled for the receiver. His head was aching, and his vivid dreams were probably due to the excessive amount of scotch he had drunk last night, when his deep depression had seemed to hang like chains around his neck. At least the Consortium wasn't interested in him, for the moment, so it was relatively safe to stay at his apartment.

"Agent Mulder, this is Assistant Director Skinner. I need you to go to the sheriff's office, in a little town called Arnehouse, about three hundred miles from here. I want you to pick up a prisoner and hold him incommunicado until I can interview him personally. Scully will pick you up in ten minutes."

Mulder fumbled his way into a fresh shirt and grabbed his jacket, quickly running a razor over his stubbled face. By the time he was done, his partner was at the door, ready to go. She raised an eyebrow when she saw how rough he was looking.

"Rough night, Mulder? Maybe you should take some time off, and show Alexei the sights of Washington." He must look bad, if Scully was showing him some sympathy.

"Alexei's gone with Krycek!" He knew he sounded abrupt, but the clone's apparent betrayal still hurt so much. And Alex.... He wanted to confess the truth, but the words felt like ashes in his mouth. 

//I betrayed the only man I've ever really loved, for a little casual sex with a stranger. Then I more or less told Alex he was useless in bed because I wanted to hurt him so much. I wanted him to hurt like I was hurting.//

He knew what Scully would say. Drop Krycek and get on with life. He's not worth it. Settle for your own private copy, sweet, harmless and controllable. Yeah, and ready to be used 365 days of the year, day or night. When had he started to think of Alexei as a substitute for the real thing? He made sure he was a kind and generous lover, and that the younger man enjoyed their activities. And the adoration Alexei felt for him was so damned seductive. 

The fire wasn't there. The heat of Alex Krycek's gaze as he looked challengingly into Mulder's eyes, the fierce, and lonely, independence. The way they caused sparks when two bright intellects clashed. The way it felt when he held Krycek in his arms, like nothing else in the world mattered. When had he realised that it was love? Some time last night, in the midst of feeling sorry for himself, he had realised what the only important thing in the world was. And how he was prepared to fight for it.

Poor Alexei. Living with Mulder was just a different kind of whoring. For security and kindness, and the strength of a pair of loving arms around him. Not that Alexei even knew how to say no to Mulder's demands for sex. 

"What's the case?" Mulder finally broke the long silence that had descended over him, as they drove out of the city.

Scully looked slightly exasperated. "I was wondering when you were going to ask, Mulder. You might be more than a little interested in this one. A local sheriff called the bureau last night. Turns out they've picked up a Federal fugitive who's wanted for five murders. He was involved in a car crash and they had to fingerprint him to try and get an I.D. while he was unconscious. It's Alex Krycek!" 

********

The young man sat in the interview room, huddled on the chair, his hands cuffed in front of him. He was resting his head on the table and from the way he held his body, it appeared that he was in pain. As the two agents walked into the room, he lifted his head and looked dully at the two newcomers. He had a spectacular bruise down the left side of his face and his shirt hung loose, showing the unmistakable whiteness of bandages where he had impacted with the steering wheel. Green eyes flared with hope when they saw Mulder, then he bowed his head again, so the sheriff wouldn't see his betraying expression.

"Ran off the road on a hairpin bend. He was going pretty fast, and apparently, someone had been messing around with his brakes. He hadn't a hope of stopping in time. He hit a tree, more or less, and his seat belt saved the lucky son of a bitches life. It took an hour to cut him out of the wreck, and he was out of it for a couple of hours after that. It was a real surprise when we found out who he was!" The sheriff gave a succinct summary of the accident.

Scully frowned at the sheriff. "Is it safe for us to move him? He looks pretty beat up."

"Yeah, he's had his ribs strapped up and you've got to keep an eye on him in case of concussion, but he's fit to be transferred." She went to sign the paperwork , giving Mulder a knowing glance, while he was left alone with the prisoner.

"What happened? Why aren't you with Alex?" The clone looked at him with a slightly cynical gaze, but Mulder could sense the rigid control with which he was holding himself. 

"Yeah, Foxy! Don't bother to ask how I am first. Get your priorities right!" He shivered slightly. "I walked out on the others, alright. They're as bad as you!"

"Baines!" Mulder knew him now. "I'm sorry. It's just that I love him so much.... And I made the biggest mistake of my life when I let him leave." The clone lowered his head again, and a flicker of pain crossed his face. Slowly Mulder reached out a hand, and gripped the younger man's shoulder reassuringly. And Baines turned, burying his face in Mulder's side as a shudder ran through him.

"Please, just hold me!" he whispered. Mulder wrapped his arms around the injured man, and soothed him. 

"You're going to have to pretend to be Alexei for a while. My partner couldn't handle another Krycek clone." A nod and another shiver. They heard the door opening and drew apart quickly. Then, formalities completed, the two agents took their prisoner out to the car. Mulder pushed the clone into the back seat, and climbed in next to him.

"Are you alright, Alexei? Why on earth did you think you could drive a car? That's so dangerous!" Scully was more than a little concerned for the clone.

Baines managed to look downcast, and shrugged wordlessly. Green eyes took in Mulder with a sly sideways glance. "Foxy..." he said in a wheedling tone, "Please take these cuffs off. They hurt!" Scully smiled at the clone. "He's harmless, Mulder, let him loose. We can introduce him properly to Skinner when we get back to Washington." The clone gave a grateful smile at Scully, and with misgivings, Mulder freed the younger man. He leaned back in the seat, and tried to ignore the proximity of the clone. A trace of a smile surfaced on Baines' face. This situation, while not what he had intended, certainly had possibilities.

The motion of the car had a soporific effect on him, and Mulder began to drowse.

Strong arms found their way round Mulder's waist, and warmth pressed against him from the side. Unthinkingly, Mulder rested his head against the other. He smiled at the feel of gentle fingers beginning to unbutton his shirt, stroke the flesh beneath the cool cotton.

"Really Alexei," Scully sounded amused. "Haven't I told you before about playing with Mulder in public!" Mulder jerked fully awake, as sudden realisation came. He wasn't dreaming, and this certainly wasn't Alexei.

Green eyes flashed amusement at him. Despite being bruised and battered, Baines was throwing himself with gusto into his new role. He was quite good at it! For a moment, their time together was uppermost in Mulder's mind. How it had felt to be kissed in passion by this man.

"But Scully, I like him so much! He plays such *fun* games. Especially in the shower!" Mulder blushed, feeling his cock stir in unwelcome eagerness, and vowed silent revenge on Baines. Fingers began to rub at his thigh, and crept upwards, uncaring of whether Scully was watching. Mulder shifted away from Baines, and covered his erection casually, with his clasped hands. The clone grinned knowingly and leaning back in the seat, closed his own eyes, trying to regain some of his strength.

Their arrival in Washington was something of an anticlimax. No waiting hordes of F.B.I. agents or Consortium hoodlums. Just an impatient Skinner, who would have to wait for now, they could explain things to him later, at the Lone Gunman's building. Somehow Mulder had persuaded Scully to keep the details of his love life secret from their boss, and this seemed to be the safest, most neutral place to stash the clone. 

The three men were more than a little surprised to see who accompanied Mulder and Scully into their offices. Alex Krycek was a known felon and wanted criminal and not the sort of company that Mulder was expected to keep.

"Mulder!" Byers said cautiously, "and the redoubtable Scully. And I believe this is Mr. Krycek!" He frowned at Mulder. "Do you want to tell us why you're putting us at risk like this?"

Scully smiled disarmingly at the three men. "This isn't Krycek guys, count the arms if you don't believe me!" Mulder winced, and he saw a momentary look of distaste on Baines face, before he smoothed over his expression. "This is Alexei, one of the most harmless, gentlest people you're ever likely to meet. Do you know a lot about cloning?"

Langly nodded. "We know the theories. It should be possible to clone a human subject now, but the Federal Government would never allow it. The Far Right would crucify them, pardon the pun." He blinked in momentary surprise. "You're saying this is Krycek's clone? Incredible!" He inspected Baines thoughtfully. "Who did it then?" 

Mulder shook his head,. "It isn't important now. We need somewhere to keep him until I can tell my boss he's not Krycek!" 

Frohike nodded. "That should be possible. Does he have any special requirements?" 

Scully smiled. "Put him down in front of the t.v. and lay in a good supply of ice cream, and he'll be no trouble. Will you Alexei?" The look Baines gave Mulder threatened death and damnation to him. "Ice cream?" he mouthed silently in disgust, as Scully turned away. Mulder felt a smile twitching at his lips. Perhaps this situation did have an up side. "Oh, and by the way Alexei, don't forget to practice your numbers. I'm sure the guys can help you!" Baines closed his eyes briefly, then a green gaze impaled Mulder. "Come back to me soon, Foxy," he said sweetly, "I'll be so cold at night without you to cuddle me!" Mulder heard one of the Lone Gunmen choke on his coffee, as he fled out of the door. Damn, but Baines was good. As sly, in his own way, as Alex Krycek himself. Come to think of it, Alexei was pretty duplicitous as well. Must be in the genes!

***********

End of Double trouble IV (1/1)

\--   
Haway the lads.

MEGAERA  
Greek Demon of Vengeance and Chocolate  
Mediocrity is death!

 

* * *

 

TITLE Double Trouble V (1/1)  
DATE January 1999   
AUTHOR Megaera  
E-MAIL   
FEEDBACK Always welcome  
DISTRIBUTION Any time any place anywhere.  
RATING NC-17   
CONTENT WARNING m/m sex   
SPOILERS Xtro II, An obscure Nick Lea film with lots of rippling muscles, in which our hero plays a young soldier called Baines.  
KEYWORDS. Clones, Angsty  
SUMMARY A continuing series about Alex and his clones.   
DISCLAIMER I don't own any character from the X-Files, I'm only borrowing them for my own entertainment and hopefully, other peoples. No copyright infringement is intended. Mr Carter please don't take offence at my use of your beautiful characters.  
COMMENTS Thanks for the encouragement, M. A. Bostron  
FOR PREVIOUS EPISODES Try the TERMA FAN FICTION ARCHIVE http://members.t ripod.com/~ter_ma/For an archive of my work including previous stories. I don't have a web page at the moment.

* * *

Double Trouble V  
By Megaera  


*******

Alex Krycek winced in pain as Alexei gently eased the dressing off his broken nose. He stared in the mirror at his spectacularly bruised face, its purple discolourations spreading out from his nose, and even extending its shadows beneath his eyes. He began a round of colourful curses that made Alexei's eyes widen in surprise and secret admiration.

"Wow!" he whispered, just as impressed by Baines' handiwork.

Alex glared at his clone, and experimentally tried to take in air through his abused nostrils. He moaned in pain, and decided that he needed to take a couple of painkillers right about now. He glanced round at Alexei, and found that the clone had disappeared again. Probably wise. Alex was more than a little irritated with the clone. He certainly knew how to get into trouble; he was indirectly responsible for wrecking Alex's relationship with Mulder and Baines. And he had put Baines at risk, when he had messed with the car's brakes. Then why the hell did Alex find himself liking the clone so much?

The prodigal Alexei appeared again, carrying something carefully in a mug. "Here!" He smiled sweetly at Alex. "I brought you some chicken soup. The lady on t.v. said it was great for when you're sick!"

Alex found it very hard not to throw the stuff at his clone. But the way Alexei's eyes fell, as he took in Alex's annoyance made the ex-assassin pause. Deliberately, he forced himself to smile and take a gulp of the long hated drink. Alexei was pathetically keen to help. Alexei smiled back adoringly, then suddenly Alex Krycek's arms, real and artificial, were full of a warm, affectionate body pressed tightly against his, as his clone hugged him closely. Alexei showed no inclination to let go, but clasped him lovingly, snuggling against him. Alex found himself strangely reluctant to let go. Shit! Wasn't this how his latest round of troubles had started?

Alexei didn't understand the sudden tension in his protector's body, and lifted his head to stare into his double's face. Two tears were tracking down Alex's cheeks, but at the same time, Alexei felt a new hardness pressing against his body. 

"I'm no good for you 'Lexy," Alex said softly. "I can't love you the way you deserve. I'm never going to stop loving Mulder. And it's dangerous to be with me!" It was his turn to give a tortured plea.

Alexei angled his leg so that it edged between Alex Krycek's. He gently brushed away Alex's tears with his fingers. "S'okay Alex. Just want to take care of you!" He began to rub his thigh against Alex's rapidly hardening cock. Krycek started to moan, and flung his head back in rapture, as the young man intensified the friction between his legs, rubbing his firm thigh against the cloth covered bulge in Alex's pants.

Alexei found himself getting quite aroused himself, and angled his body forward slightly, so that his own erection was thrusting against his lover's body. He felt Alex begin to counter his moves, matching his sensuous actions, pulling him closer with his one arm. Both of them were panting hard, eagerly driving their bodies together. Alexei flung his arms around Alex's neck, pulling his head down for a passionate kiss, his tongue plunging expertly into his lover's mouth, plundering the parted lips. Alex yelped, as his sore nose got in the way, which set Alexei off giggling. He heard Alex laugh softly in his neck. Then the two of them were moving against each other again, with redoubled passion. Before long, Alexei felt his lover jerk uncontrollably against him, arching up hard against his body, as he cried out wildly. That was enough to bring Alexei to his own shattering climax.

They sagged against each other, still entwined. 

"We must be crazy," Alex murmured hoarsely in his clone's ear.

"Yeah! Sticky!" Alexei said and giggled again helplessly. That did it for Alex, he joined in, resting his forehead against Alexei's, only stopping when his laughter threatened to start his nose throbbing again.

"Shower?" he purred suggestively. The clone's green eyes lit up unnervingly, and he all but dragged Alex by the hand towards the bathroom. "Oh yeah! Fun!" The look of tenderness in his eyes warmed Alex in some lonely place in his heart.

*******

Their plans would have to be changed, Mulder thought regretfully. A.D. Skinner had been called to the State Department to deal with a big counterfeiting case that involved several prominent business men. In the meantime, he had called Mulder and instructed him to keep Krycek under wraps. Something big was going down in the corridors of power, and the last thing Skinner needed was the added distraction of a wanted criminal to deal with. So at the moment, Mulder was stuck with Baines. He couldn't let the clone go, or Skinner would live up to his name, and he didn't feel comfortable leaving Baines unsupervised. Mulder finally decided to go and check on the clone.

He actually timed his arrival at the Lone Gunmen's place quite well, in a manner of speaking. As he walked through the door, he was hit in the stomach by a very large flying book and sat down hard, in the middle of the floor, gasping for breath. As he tried to breathe, he lifted his head and saw four shocked faces staring at him. Baines was standing beside the bookshelf, and had another book poised for throwing in his hand, and the Gunmen were cowering at the other side of the room. Baines took in the expression on Mulder's face, and slowly let the book fall to the floor. 

"Fucking idiots!" he muttered, then tried to look innocent when Mulder's expression darkened.

"Gentle!" Frohike whined. "Harmless! He's lethal! All we wanted to do was take a blood sample. We didn't think he'd mind too much!?"

"Yeah, well you might have asked first, instead of sticking a needle into me out of the blue! Oh and by the way, I hate fucking ice cream!"

Mulder got to his feet, and grabbed Baines by the arm. He hustled the clone away from the irate Gunmen and shook his arm warningly. "You want to get us all in trouble, you fool." he whispered angrily. "Alexei *isn't* aggressive, ever! And he would be more likely to cry if someone hurt him, not get even!"

"Yeah, well I know he throws things!" Baines muttered. Mulder gave him a warning look. Green eyes gleamed dangerously for a moment, then suddenly looked thoughtful. Mulder turned back to the Gunmen who were united in glaring at Mulder and his companion 

"He promises he'll be no more trouble. He was just scared, that's all." Frohike looked doubtful.

 Then Baines flung his arms around Mulder and buried his face in the agent's shoulder. He gave a very convincing wail of misery and tightened his grip. "Oh Foxy, don't leave me. I'm so scared without you. Stay with me, please..... You make me feel so good....." All spoken at the top of his voice in a pleading tone. He laughed very softly in Mulder's ear, and Mulder hastily tried to push him away. Langly and Frohike were staring at Mulder as if he had grown a new head, and not for the first time, the agent felt a wave of crimson sweep across his face. Baines tightened his grip, and before the fascinated eyes of the Gunmen, kissed Mulder full on the lips. His mouth tasted sweet from the ice cream he had unwillingly eaten, and his body was pressed so tightly against Mulder, that the clone couldn't fail to sense the effect he was having on Mulder. Hands wound round his neck, and then he was kissing Baines back fiercely, hearing the other man moan deep in his throat as he began to rub himself like a cat against Mulder's hardness.

It was the astonished exclamation that Byers made when he came into the room, that finally brought Mulder to his senses. Had he really just been making out with Baines in public? He broke away from the clone, gasping.

"Stop it! Get the hell away from me!" Too little protest, too late.

 "Alexei" wailed again before dropping to his knees and wrapping his hands round Mulder's legs. "I'll do the thing you like Foxy...." Mulder sensed three jaws hit the floor, as their owners' mouths gaped in shock. That did it. Mulder blushed bright red, and grabbed Baines, pushing him hastily out of the door. 

He slammed Baines up against the wall. "Don't you ever do that to me again, you son of a bitch!" And felt something cool pressing against his neck. Baines gently prodded Mulder over the jugular, with a knife he had somehow liberated from the Gunmen. "Let me go, Mulder. I don't want to hurt you.... " Mulder did as he was told and very slowly stepped back. Baines had gone very pale. The clone slipped the knife back into concealment, down his back pocket, and smiled at Mulder. As beautiful and deadly as a snake. Then he clutched at his side, where Mulder had knocked into him when they were struggling. "Oh shit! I think you bust something!" He moaned, and fell forward into Mulder's arms, his young body going limp.

******

Mulder had immediately panicked slightly, and lowered Baines gently to the floor. He dashed back inside to get help, and ring Scully the doctor, to beg her to come and treat him.

//Sap!//

Baines watched from under lowered eyelids, as his one time lover and protector dashed inside. The expression of worry on his face was really quite endearing, since Baines hadn't really expected him to give a damn. But his little gamble was paying off unexpectedly. Whilst Mulder had indeed hurt him when they had struggled together, as a Government Super-weapon, one thing he had been taught was how to endure physical pain and discomfort. He gave a slight shiver, remembering how that lesson had been reinforced. Then, knowing he had only a short time, he pushed his aching body up from its prone position, and hurried down the stairs. When Mulder had grabbed him to stop him falling, Baines had deftly picked the agent's pocket. The car keys would prove quite useful. Lets hope he would have more success with this vehicle.

******

Mulder was furious. The damned clone had ruined his reputation with the Gunmen forever, embarrassed him by escaping, and stolen his car. Not to mention Scully's annoyance at being called half way over the city for nothing. Out thought at every turn. He sat, head in hands and groaned.

"Anybody got any aspirin? I think I've got a monster headache developing!"

******

Where else had Baines to go, but back to Alex's hideout. He knew that he needed somewhere to lie up and recover properly, while his injuries healed. Alex would feel guilty about the way they had parted, and Baines hoped he wouldn't be turned away. The comment he had made about all three of them belonging together had turned out to be more true than he had imagined, because somehow, he was beginning to think dangerous thoughts. He was starting to imagine that the place where his duplicates were, was the closest thing he had to home. Alex was so challenging, so flawed and tormented, yet there had been a moment when they were together, that Baines had seen joy in those emerald eyes. And it had felt *so* good to chase away the haunted look in the wearied face.

Another reason he was drawn back, though he hardly dared admit it to himself, was a pair of identical green eyes and their sweet owner. Something had started to blossom between them, that Baines was reluctant to think about, in case he made it disappear into the mists. A smile that made him feel protective, and comforted, teased and aroused in equal measure. 

//Alexei.//

When Baines entered the old warehouse, he took precautions to make sure he wasn't followed, and slipped silently through the door. Lock picking was another one of his skills. He wasn't sure where the two objects of his search would be, mid morning. And coming to the bedroom, set in one of the former little offices, he found them. Quietly entering the room, when he heard the soft sounds of someone sleeping, he caught his breath at the sight before him. They were so beautiful together. Limbs tangled together, one lying in the protective embrace of the other, both sleeping the exhausted sleep that passion brings in its wake. Of course Alex would seek comfort from Alexei, and the clone would give Alex whatever he needed, out of unconditional love. Baines felt a twinge of envy. Then irresistibly, he undressed, his clothes pooling around his feet, and he slid under the sheets next to them. Alex didn't even wake, but Alexei stirred, lifting his head from its comfortable pillow on his lover's chest. He smiled sleepily in welcome.

"Knew you would be okay!" he whispered. "Alex was worried, but I knew you'd come back."

 Baines reached out, and stroked Alexei's hair affectionately. Then, yielding to temptation, he rested his head on the pillow and gazed into Alexei's wonderful eyes, as the young man drowsed. Alex murmured something uneasily in his sleep and whimpered softly. The two clones looked at each other. Then, in complete accord, Baines drew close behind Alex and wrapped his arms around him, whilst Alexei cuddled him from the other side. With a small sigh, Alex Krycek relaxed into the embrace, and the lines of tension on his face eased. And soon, all three were asleep again.

********

Alex stirred, then opened his eyes. He felt better this morning, than he had in a long time. Something last night had driven away the bad dreams. Though life still had its desolate moments. He turned to look at the figure lying next to him in the bed. Green eyes were watching him intently. Their owner smiled gently, and a finger reached up to trace across Alex's cheekbone. The clone frowned at the still vivid bruising that still marred Alex's face.

"That must have hurt a lot!"

"Not as much as it did last night!" Alex smiled warmly at his companion, then leaned forward and kissed him. Last night's sweet affection had made Alex realise how much he longed for someone to hold him every night..... The clone drew back eventually, as the kiss threatened to develop into something more intense.

"Sorry, Alex. Not now. Time for breakfast!"

"Huh?" Alex looked confused.

"Breakfast! You like your eggs sunny side up?" Alexei emerged through the bedroom door, carrying a tray of food.

"What the....?" Alex's gaze swung between the clone in his bed and the one who'd been cooking. Alexei sank down onto the bed next to him, balancing the tray of food carefully on the bed. Alex turned and his gaze impaled Baines indignantly. The soldier shrugged apologetically.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time. Anyway Alex, don't you realise how careless you've been lately. I came in last night, and you didn't even wake up! And you slept through Alexei cooking, too!"

"You cross at Baines?" Alexei whispered.

Alex sighed. "No. But can't you get your names tattooed across your foreheads or something?"

Two sets of emerald eyes met, then responded with identical headshakes.

"Nah!" Baines grinned.

"No fun that way!" Alexei giggled. "Now eat!" Alex glanced at Baines in mute appeal. Alexei's attempts at cooking, while slowly improving, still were worse than Mulders' in many ways. Baines snagged a piece of toast and leaned against Alex's shoulder. And Krycek let him, seemed to crave the contact. Baines felt a slight tremor run through the body that rested close to his, and he wondered quite when Alex Krycek had started to fall apart.

"You're too thin Alex. Shut up, relax and enjoy it. We're going to look after you, whether you like it or not!" Baines saw the single glistening tear that tracked its way down Alex's cheek and gently reached out to brush it away. Both clones hugged Alex then, in tandem, and for the first time in an eternity, the tormented man let down his guard, and pulled them both closer, a sob choking him. 

"I can't be alone any more," he whispered. "Not now. Now that we have each other...." Baines kissed Alex's forehead gently, and Krycek closed his eyes, letting himself enjoy the warm strength and protectiveness of Baines' arms.

Alexei rested his head on Alex's chest and sighed contentedly. His family was nearly complete. A sudden thought made him lift his head again.

"Say! Is my last name Krycek, Baines or what?" He pouted at the two men. 

"I guess you'll have to choose," Alex smiled tenderly at him. Alexei's innocent delight in life was one of the few things that lifted Alex out of his bleak moods these days. Alexei considered the problem for a moment. Then a radical solution occurred to him.

"Pillow fight! Best name wins!" he yelled and attacked the others vigorously.

"Alexei!" Twin protests had no effect whatsoever. But then, with Alexei, they never did. 

********

Mulder rubbed tiredly at his eyes and read over the report once again. However he tried to phrase it, his account still sounded the same. A mixture of ill luck and ill judgement on his part, leading to "Krycek's" escape. Skinner was going to crucify him. If he was lucky.

The beep on his computer terminal told him e-mail had arrived. Desperate for a distraction, to take his mind off the depressing events of the day, he moved over to the screen. He knew almost at once, who it was from.

//Fox. Your two friends are safe with me, the bruised one and the cute one. They're giving me a hard time about you, so I promised I'd make contact. I was wrong to leave you the last time without talking things over. I'm sorry. Meet me in three days where we spent our first night together. A.//

Mulder closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the computer screen. A sound at the door warned him as Scully came in, but he didn't lift his head. An expression of concern flickered across her face.

"Mulder. Are you alright?" When he finally looked her way, she wondered why he was smiling brilliantly at her, despite the tears streaming down his face. 

"Oh yes Scully. Believe it or not, I'm fine. For the first time that I can remember, lately, I'm just fine!"

*******

Mulder had taken some time off, so he could sort his life out. And so, he found himself sitting in a slightly scruffy but oh so memorable motel room. There had been no problem getting the same room as his last visit, because this was the sort of place that never had more than a quarter of its rooms occupied at one time. The same bed with its metal headboard, and the stupid dark red decor. Not exactly top of the range. And no cable t.v. Then why was he smiling in fond reminiscence, not at all bothered by the shabby surroundings.

In truth, he did feel more than a little apprehensive about this meeting. But Alex had initiated this, so that at least argued that he wanted something from Mulder. And how often did Alex Krycek apologise? Not frequently, in his experience! Mulder leaned back in the worn armchair, and settled down to wait. Predictably, he was far too early for the meeting, but that didn't bother him. Better that, than risking another misunderstanding if he were late. And yes, it did mean so much to him, that such petty things should worry him.

About ten minutes before nine, the lights of an approaching car woke Mulder from a light doze, and he stretched his stiff muscles, feeling the tension across his neck and shoulders. The sound of a car door slamming immediately made him leap to his feet. Suddenly, he felt incredibly nervous. He didn't want this to go wrong, not now, when there was hope at last. The thought of not being alone any more, of being close to Alex again......

The door opened and Alex Krycek walked in. He looked tired, and thinner, those were Mulder's first thoughts. Then Alex moved forward into the room and Mulder looked into those green eyes again.

******

Alex hadn't intended to ever speak to Fox Mulder again. His former lover had broken his heart, and after that, it had been so hard to motivate himself to do anything. Only Alexei's patent need had given him a reason to keep on living, though he hadn't been aware of it at the time. He smiled in reminiscence. The clone was good for him. Alexei loved unconditionally, wanted nothing except affection in return, and his innocent view of life so lightened the lives of those around him. Alex sometimes wondered if Alexei was far more intelligent than he seemed at first, because he knew, with an unerring accuracy, how to get what he wanted out of life. How to cheer Alex when he was sunk in desperate misery. How to wind Baines round his little finger. And how to get Alex and Mulder back together. Alex had seen the two clones talking in low, urgent tones more than once since Baines had returned, their dark heads close together. Both had quickly shut up when he had approached, and Alexei had been unable to keep that slightly guilty look from his face. Baines, of course, could rival the most marble of statues for the inscrutability of his expressions.

So the two of them had ambushed Alex one day. Baines had slid his arms round Alex, pinning his good arm to his side, and Alexei had wrapped his arms round Alex's neck, so that he couldn't pull away. Green eyes laughingly teased him, and Alexei had leaned in for a kiss. Baines had begun to do something utterly erotic and moist with his tongue below Alex's ear. 

Baines had spoken first.

"We're not going to let you up for air......"

And Alexei had purred softly, "until you make us a promise to call Foxy....."

Baines had rubbed his body against Alex until he began to moan helplessly in arousal, one leg slipping between Alex's legs and pressuring the inside of his thighs gently.

"....and meet him, to talk about the two of you."

"No!" Alex had begun to protest, but Alexei had other ideas, and dropped to his knees before his original. When Alex felt the zipper on his jeans go down, and Alexei's talented fingers reach inside, he had tried to pull away, but Baines was far stronger than he was and had held him still. 

Alexei had spent the first few years of his adult life with nothing to do but perfect this particular skill. From the moment his lips closed around Alex Krycek's betraying erection, he knew he was lost. Alexei knew exactly how to arouse a man, how to torment him with movement of throat and lips and tongue. And it was down to Alex that his clone had learned how to use that skill to his own advantage. He would never have had the self-confidence before, to bring his lover to the brink, and hold him there, tantalisingly on the edge of orgasm, for as long as he wanted. It didn't take long for Alex Krycek's resistance to break down, and for him to start begging Alexei for satisfaction. He held out for almost ten minutes, but when Baines fingers worked their way between his legs and started to circle his tight opening, he lost whatever control he had managed to hang onto, and screamed his assent to anything, if only they would let him come. It had been worth it. Alex came so hard he fainted, and woke, wrapped in two sets of arms, warm and protected, more than a little dazed at their adept manipulation of their archetype.

So Alex had sent the message, both of them standing at his shoulder, relentless and merciless. Yes, Alexei too. And the sense of relief he had felt afterwards had stunned him further. Had he really wanted this so much then? 

Mulder was predictably there already, the man was punctual at least. As well as being a betraying, confusing son of a bitch, and an incredible lover. Momentarily Alex hesitated. Did he really want to do this? Well, the two clones would never let him alone until he had at least tried. They hadn't come with him this time, not wanting to get in the way. Decisively, he flung away his doubts and opened the motel door.

Mulder stood inside the room, looking uncharacteristically anxious. His face lit up when he saw Alex, and a hesitant smile appeared. He looked endearingly dishevelled and just a little sad. They stared at each other uncertainly. Then before Alex could even think of what to say to his ex-lover, Mulder moved forward and kissed him

//YES//

//This was what he needed, had missed so much. The feel of *Alex* in his arms//

//Mulder's arms around him filled an emptiness within him that he hadn't known existed//

They were kissing each other fiercely, forgetting their argument. Nothing else was important, not the world around them, the noise of the t.v. or the lights of passing cars. Nothing but this. Alex felt himself shudder as he felt himself melting into those strong arms. He was crying soundlessly. Mulder gently drew back and cupped Alex's face between his hands, tenderly stroking away his tears.

"I love you. I've always loved you. I'm yours. Don't ever leave me again, please, you may as well shoot me first....."

The door burst open, and half a dozen black clad Consortium goons charged in. Both men swung round in shock, far too late to make a difference. Alex tried to move towards the door but something struck him in the chest, then there was the most horrendous pain he had ever felt. His body convulsed helplessly, and he fell powerlessly, his body paralysed. Distantly he heard Mulder scream in desperate denial, then there was an ugly thud, and a low whimpering moan from somewhere close to his head. The odd thing was that he was perfectly aware and conscious, despite his incapacity, and his vision wasn't impaired, although his only view was of the grey carpet. 

His body was turned over by a rough pair of hands, and he found himself looking into a familiar, despised face. The Smoker.

"Well, well Krycek. This is an unexpected pleasure. I knew we would turn you up sooner or later, if we tracked Mulder. We just missed you on your last visit to Washington, we thought it was that stupid little clone." He smiled grimly. "I never knew you were so.... wanton, Alex. Secret assignations with Fox Mulder in a motel room, I'll have to thoroughly research *that* trait." The smile deepened, became more malevolent. "When we get you back to the labs!" The Smoker licked his lips suggestively. "Wonderful what the latest taser technology can do, isn't it. Deliver you up to me, totally helpless and unmarked..... as yet." 

And as Alex was lifted by his captors, he caught a glimpse of Mulder sprawled on the floor, blood seeping from a gash across his forehead. They hadn't been gentle in their treatment of him. The Smoker dashed his hopes that at least one of them would escape this.

"Bring Mulder too. I have a score to settle with him. And besides, I think he might be just the leverage we need to make our little research subject here co-operative." That was the last thing Alex remembered, before something sharp sank into his good arm and the world faded away.

*******

Alex wasn't back and it had been two days since their meeting had been arranged. Baines was worried. While he could imagine Alex spending at least a day in bed with Fox Mulder, he should surely have surfaced by now, at least enough to give them a call on his mobile. Alex knew, though he pretended not to, how important both of his clones considered his mental well-being. He would have let them out of their misery, one way or the other, and Baines couldn't imagine Alex wanting to harm himself, even if Mulder would risk it, which Baines doubted. No. Something was badly wrong. Even Alexei was uneasy now, casting his eyes towards the phone every few minutes. 

"I'm going to the motel, you want to come?"

Alexei nodded, and silently reached out to grip his hand for a moment. He knew Baines wasn't the sort of man to panic, but if he was worried..... It took them less than an hour to reach the motel. The first inkling that something was wrong, was the sight of the two cars parked outside the motel. Alex's and Mulder's. Then when Baines picked the lock of the door, and went inside, Alexei heard him hiss in shock. He dashed after his double, and before Baines could stop him, he stared at the bloodstain on the carpet.

"Do you think they killed each other?" he whispered.

"If they fought, why are their cars still outside, and their bags still here?" Baines shook his head. "I don't believe that! Look around. Maybe there are some other clues here." 

But it was Alexei who found what they were looking for, on the floor of the room, kicked carelessly under the bed. The distinctive cigarette stub, with the word "Morleys" written across it. The young clone whimpered in distress, and Baines hurriedly came towards him. He stared desolately at the evidence his clone had found, and pulled Alexei in close to him, soothing away the trembling that had overtaken his double. 

"We have to get them back!" Alexei sobbed. Then he slowly straightened, and swiped angrily at the tears that were trickling down his cheeks. "Baines...... teach me how to shoot!"

********

End of Episode 5. Sorry it's taken so long. Hopefully, the story will reach a thrilling conclusion in the next episode.

\--   
megaera

 

* * *

 

TITLE Double Trouble VI (1/1)  
DATE February 1999   
AUTHOR Megaera  
E-MAIL   
FEEDBACK Always welcome  
DISTRIBUTION Any time any place anywhere.  
RATING NC-17   
CONTENT WARNING m/m sex Violence  
SPOILERS Xtro II, An obscure Nick Lea film with lots of rippling muscles, in which our hero plays a young soldier called Baines.  
KEYWORDS. Clones, Angsty  
SUMMARY A continuing series about Alex and his clones.   
DISCLAIMER I don't own any character from the X-Files, I'm only borrowing them for my own entertainment and hopefully, other peoples. No copyright infringement is intended. Mr Carter please don't take offence at my use of your beautiful characters.  
COMMENTS Thanks for the encouragement, Orithain. I'm reliably informed that the cells Alex has are a real medical phenomenon. No apologies for giving Alexei a smooch in the middle, he deserved it.  
FOR PREVIOUS EPISODES Try the TERMA FAN FICTION ARCHIVE http://members.t ripod.com/~ter_ma/For an archive of my work including previous stories. I don't have a web page at the moment.

* * *

Double Trouble VI  
By Megaera  


*******

Baines wrapped his arms around Alexei and held him close, enjoying, momentarily the feel of his beloved in his arms. Just to feel the firm body against him, to smell the faint odour of soap and cleanness that was an integral part of him. Alexei briefly leaned closer and closed his eyes.

"Feels good!" he whispered, almost purring with pleasure.

"I know," Baines replied in his ear. "Can you guess what I want to do now?"

"Uh-huh! Me too!" Alexei let himself enjoy the warmth of Baines close behind him for a few more silent minutes, in the cool of the early morning forest air. He sighed, and the moment passed.

"That's it. Get it a little higher..... steady....... Now! Fire!"

Baines loosened his grip on Alexei's arms and stepped forward to examine, with satisfaction, the beer bottles that Alexei had been aiming at. 

"Now try it on your own!" he said. Alexei put his body into the firing stance that Baines had just demonstrated, and carefully aimed. He fired the 45. One of the green bottles exploded.

"You've got a good eye for this," Baines said. Alexei fired again, with identical results.

"Natural talent!" Baines said. Alexei grinned back at him.

"New way to have fun!" Alexei giggled.

"Yeah!" Baines acknowledged.

*******

The three Lone Gunmen had heard nothing from Fox Mulder for over a week, not an event in itself. But then Dana Scully had called that morning, asking them if they had contacted him recently, and had reluctantly admitted that she was worried. He had disappeared. Time to get onto the Net and do a search, see if they could track Mulder by less conventional means, whilst Dana put out an A.P.B. for his car. Certain sources were contacted and favours called in, but the agent had, to all intents and purposes, vanished from the face of the Earth. That is, until his car was found in a scruffy motel parking lot a hundred miles out of Washington. Next to another abandoned car belonging to a hire company. Hacking into their records produced the driving licence records of one Alex Smith......

"Well, how many people do we know with the name Alex?" Frohike was sarcastic. "Just one that I can think of! And we know he's Mulder's type!"

"Yes, but are we talking about Krycek or his clone here?" Langly seemed doubtful. "There might be a whole army of them out there!"

Both of his colleagues glared at him. "That's so stupid!" Byers muttered in irritation. "Don't you think we'd have heard about them by now if that was the case. The two we've met were both totally amoral."

Silenced, Langly shook his head. Maybe it was stupid, but he couldn't help the paranoid way his mind worked.

*******

Alex Krycek slowly began to return to consciousness, it was like fighting his way through a thick, syrupy darkness that clung to his body and mind, making him fight hard for every step. Something was so wrong, his body felt different, as if something was awry, not working properly, and there was an awareness of distant pain. He fought harder against the cobwebs that clung to his mind, and gradually came to full awareness.

He was lying, sprawled awkwardly on a low hospital cot, and when he finally opened his eyes, he thought for a moment that he had somehow been transported to a psychiatric ward of some sort, because he was in a small white room, with padded walls and no readily accessible door. The only break in the monotonous bleakness of the room was a small video camera, high up near the ceiling, that tracked his feeble movements.

The sense of wrongness increased. 

Alex tried to sit up, and though he made it half way, the sudden, horrendous pain that lanced through him warned him to be cautious. His right leg was on fire, the white hot ache of it sent a wave of nausea through him, and he had to fight not to lose the contents of his stomach. When the throbbing finally reduced itself to a more manageable level, something that permitted a degree of thought, he dazedly looked down. He was wearing one of those short hospital gowns, tied loosely at the back, and reaching down to just above his knees, though it was disarrayed at the moment. And a bulky dressing encircled his right thigh, some kind of firm bandage that covered the site of the pain. For the first time that he could remember, Alex found himself utterly terrified.

He had to try and escape, that much was certain. Better that, than staying here to be the Smoker's guinea pig. Forcing the fear away, he took a deep breath and braced himself for the pain he knew would come. Unsteadily, he forced himself to his feet, moaning at the ache that spread down his leg, just from the movement of his thigh muscle, as he slid his leg over to the side of the cot. Then he set his weight fully on the injured leg.

There was a moment of ferocious, searing hell. He must have passed out cold, for his next moment of awareness was lying face down on the floor, his cheek pressing against the softness of the padded floor. He couldn't move in the aftermath of pain, couldn't think clearly, and could only breath in and out in small sobbing gasps, as his aching body gradually adjusted to its new situation. 

The door opened and Alex heard someone enter the room. Someone sighed in feigned exasperation, and the toe of a shoe nudged his cheek. 

"Interesting, isn't it Alex?" The Smoker sounded amused. "And quite painful, so I'm told."

He chuckled.

"We performed a little operation on you, while you were drugged. A very useful one, my scientists tell me. Did you know there's an interesting little cell in the human Femur called a pluripotent stem cell. Very rare in most humans. You however, are *lucky* enough to have more than the rest of us. It's the main cell we use for cloning, because it can differentiate itself into most body tissues. We need lots of them for our research, and you're our main source!"

He took a long drag on his cigarette, then dropped the stub in front of the helpless man's nose, grinding it into the floor beside Alex in a vaguely insulting gesture.

"The doctors drilled a hole in your thigh bone, Alex, and took a sample of your bone marrow. Then they put a high tech kind of drain in, to stop the bone healing up. You're a kind of living factory for the cells we need, and we can siphon off more as soon as your body makes them."

The Smoker grabbed his shoulder abruptly, and pulled Alex round to face him. The younger man moaned helplessly, and tried to shake his head in denial.

"No way!" he whispered. "I'm not going to give you what you want!"

"Oh you will, Alex. Because if you do something silly, like trying to pull the drain out of your leg, it won't be you I punish. I'll give your precious Mulder an education in how to satisfy my particular tastes. I won't kill him, but he won't be worth much to anyone by the time I've finished with him. He certainly won't want a man near him ever again, if his mind stays whole, which I doubt."

His hand closed around Alexei's neck, and he shook the defenceless man roughly. Alex whimpered desperately, as the pain blurred his vision.

"Do we understand each other, Alex?"

"Yes...." he whispered.

*******

Dana Scully frowned in irritation, and rubbed tiredly at her eyes. Four hours of work on her computer that evening had left her feeling stiff and her hands and feet were cramped. Time to get that new office chair with the posture adjustments. She rose from her seat and stretched her arms outwards, feeling the blood rush to her fingertips. Time to have that relaxing bath, then sleep for a while. She needed it. The search for Mulder and Krycek had petered out from a lack of leads. Despite her best efforts, and the help of the Gunmen, they had found nothing to help them. And now Mulder had been missing for over three weeks. She wouldn't give up! But she couldn't think of anything else to do, and her initial despair at the loss of her friend had settled into a dull misery that surfaced when she was at a low ebb. Like tonight, for instance. Damn it, she missed him. His dry humour and his absurd theories.... 

"Why did you have to get involved with Krycek, of all people, Mulder?" she muttered despondently. 

"Maybe because they love each other!"

 Scully whirled in shock, at the voice that came from directly behind her, her hand going, uselessly for her holster, before she remembered that her gun was on the kitchen table. Green eyes watched her from the shadows on the other side of the room, a slightly amused smile on the handsome face. 

//Alexei//

"What the hell are you doing here, Alexei? I thought you were with Krycek. Are you telling me Mulder and Krycek are together?" The questions came flooding out, as she tried to overcome her surprise at his silent appearance. Maybe the clone could ease some of her worries. He smiled crookedly, and moved forward into the light cast by the small desk light. 

"They're together, alright. But I don't know where! Our smoking friend seems to have taken them, and there are no leads that I can find. And there's only one reason I can think of why he would need Alex, and it's not a pleasant thought."

Scully's face fell in disappointment, for a moment. The young clone sighed, and a slightly apologetic frown crossed his face. Alexei sounded different, somehow, but it was nothing she could immediately identify.

"I hoped you might be bringing me some news of Mulder...." she admitted sadly. "But at least I know where to look now. I have official access to a lot of information sources.... and the Gunmen can try less legal avenues of exploration."

Then it occurred to her what was different about Alexei. When had she ever had a *conversation* with him. One that didn't involve his shortcomings in education, or his pet topic of ice-cream? She had always treated him like a child, slightly protective and affectionate, since she knew all too well how he had suffered. When had he ever sounded so resourceful, so competent? Talking about the leads in his investigation! Scully's eyes went wide and she shrank back a step or two. 

"Who are you? You're not Alexei!"

The darkness behind the clone stirred and a second dark clad figure materialised from the shadows, slipped an arm fondly around the waist of the first. 

"Hiya, Scully. You cross at me?" 

A second pair of eyes, in a face and body utterly identical to the first. 

"This is Baines."

Alexei squeezed Baines' waist and the soldier turned to smile at him tenderly. Then Baines grinned cheekily at Scully, so like Alexei in some ways. 

"We've met before, Agent Scully. I was the one who was busted up in the car wreck!"

She watched Baines in disbelief, as he casually sprawled over her sofa. Alexei nestled in close to him, his green eyes wide with apprehension, as he watched her. 

"Does Mulder know about you?" she demanded.

"Yes. We get along quite well together. When the others let me near him....." Baines gave a wicked little smile.

"So Mulder knew you weren't Alexei when he brought you to Washington? Damn the man! He could have trusted me a little more." Baines shrugged, not in the least apologetic.

"He's paying the price now though, isn't he!"

"Just why are you here?" she scowled. 

"To get them back safely. You have the resources to find them. I have the military training to break them out of whatever secure location he and Alex are kept in. We won't abandon Alex now that we've found him." Alexei nodded, his expression, for once serious.

"Alright. But you'll have to stay with the Gunmen, it's too dangerous here. You think you can handle that?" 

Baines laughed. "No problem!" 

Alexei smiled quietly to himself. Getting Baines to trust Scully had been one of the hardest chores he had ever done. But now, they could only wait.

********

Alex limped slowly to the bathroom, in the small suite of rooms he had been given. Heavily guarded, of course. When he had started to co-operate, his living conditions had improved dramatically. Not that there was any chance of escape. Most days the effort of forcing his aching leg into motion exhausted him in just a few small steps. Since they had started to tinker with his cells, his immune system had started to deteriorate, and he felt so drained and dizzy sometimes. 

He was slowly becoming accustomed to the constant, wearing pain that stayed with him day and night, and he had learned to move cautiously, in a kind of old man's shuffle, to minimise the discomfort.

He scrutinised at his face in the bathroom mirror. He had seen better days. A dreadfully pale, thin face stared back at him, eyes hugely shadowed and with a haggard expression. They were draining the life out of him, day by day. He watched a tear roll slowly down the reflection's cheek.

 But it was worth it.

//If it keeps Mulder safe!//

*******

The Lone Gunmen had suffered the dubious honour of hosting the Krycek clan for the past three days. Frohike was beginning to think that he would be better off in hell, than with those two madmen. For a start, anything edible in the kitchen that contained the least amount of sugar had disappeared. Alexei the clone had shovelled up food as if there was no tomorrow, and worse still, he obviously had the right kind of metabolism to burn the calories straight off. He did seem to be filled with energy all the time. Even in the middle of the night, when he would play MTV extra loud and actually dance to it. Like he had never had the chance before.

Baines, the second clone was worse. He seemed dour and uncommunicative, but Frohike could remember from his last visit, exactly how dangerous the soldier was. Langly had talked with him at one point, and had claimed to recognise the name of the army unit Baines had trained in. The secret ops guys who made the Navy Seals look like a bunch of pansies! That guy was so sharp he was going to cut himself one of these days! 

Baines had watched the Gunmen constantly, since the two had arrived, brought there by Scully in the middle of the night. He asked penetrating questions and had actually contributed to their search with a few suggestions as to the sort of medical lab Krycek might be taken to. Very efficient.

Well, if he was anything like Alex Krycek, he would make a frightening killer.

There was one anomaly though, that had stunned the three Gunmen when they had first realised it. When Alexei had wandered over to Baines, where he sat on the couch, watching them perform the latest computer search. Alexei had draped himself like a cat, over Baines, sitting astride him. And Baines had wrapped both arms around Alexei and kissed him with a sensuality that had raised the hairs on the back of Frohike's neck. Only the chime of the computer as the latest enquiry concluded had made Baines stop, and glance over at the screen. Alexei had sighed theatrically, and wandered towards the kitchen again. And other than a slight flush to his face, Baines hadn't even seemed bothered by the incident.

That night, the first that they had stayed with the Gunmen, had also been surprising. In that it had proved that Krycek was, by genetics as well as nature, an unprincipled son of a bitch. Baines had been given Langly's room, and by then, the three Gunmen were not in the least surprised when Alexei joined him. The rather loud sounds coming from beyond the closed door had also made it obvious what the main recreation of a Krycek clone appeared to be. 

*******

Business dealt with, both clones relaxed into each other's arms. Quite when they had decided to consummate their desire, neither was certain. only that long lingering kisses and hot glances had eventually melted into something wild and tender and utterly precious between them. Probably love, not that either of them had much experience of that sort of emotion. It was probably one of the craziest places they could have picked, but by now, Alexei knew the sort of danger their present lifestyle brought. They could only seize the moment as best they could. So their first time together would be in a stupid little borrowed room in the Lone Gunmen's home. But neither really cared where they were, not when glorious green eyes flashed in scorching intensity, passing secret signals to each other. And sweet lips curved in welcome, before pressing against smooth skin in benediction and worship. They were in love. What else was there to say.

By mutual consent, both of them had gone into the bedroom, within minutes of each other, raising more than a few eyebrows among their hosts. Alexei smiled at Baines in the sort of way that made him feel as if he were coming home. Alexei backed slowly towards the small bed, pulling his t-shirt off, and somehow managing to divest himself of the other clothes he was wearing with animal grace. Then he lay down on his side on top of the covers, never taking his eyes off Baines. He began to run his hands in a slow sensuous caress, rubbing chest and nipples, stomach and thighs. A flushed and utterly desirable face was upturned to Baines, and Alexei parted his lips and moaned softly, as he showed his new partner how he wanted to be touched. Alexei drew two fingers into his mouth and then trailed them across his skin, leaving a moist, glistening trail that led downwards.

Baines was transfixed by the abandoned, wanton creature who lay in front of him, no longer shy or hesitant. And totally serious. Alexei had never shown anyone this much of himself before. Never trusted anyone enough to openly display his desires. From what Mulder had told him, Baines knew Alexei was the product of cruelty and neglect, and had always let himself be used. How safe he must feel to uncover his secret desires like that. Baines felt a wave of love and affection for his double. He sat on the bed and reached out to gently run his fingers across the silken skin. He wanted so much for this to be right for Alexei. He was so scared that he would hurt his lover. Seeing his hesitancy, Alexei gave a wicked smile and reached out his own hands in return. Baines suddenly found his head grasped to either side, and intense green eyes gleamed inches from his.

"I'm not made of glass!" he laughed. Then Baines was pushed back onto the bed, and Alexei was above him, astride him. Leaning in for an intense kiss as his hands roved across Baines' body. Baines opened his mouth and drank in the sweetness of Alexei's mouth, as he was in turn, hungrily consumed. The wicked gleam reappeared in the beautiful eyes, and then Baines found his clothes rapidly discarded by the suddenly urgent fingers that trailed fire in their wake. When had he become the quarry and not the hunter? 

A cry of triumph, as his body was finally bared to the other's green gaze. They weren't alike in many respects, and now it was more obvious. With pale golden skin, Alexei was softer and his body more lush, and tender, with a voluptuousness that Baines lacked. He was, by contrast, all hard angularity and smooth muscular fitness. How could anyone confuse them? 

Alexei was so much more experienced than he was. Baines was again hesitant in taking the lead. Until, with a soft giggle, Alexei lowered his famous lips and proceeded to demonstrate his particular talent. It was one thing Baines had little experience of. 

To feel his lover's mouth trailing kisses across his skin, then to feel the constriction of Alexei's mouth as he was drawn into the moist furnace of those full lips. He knew, distantly, what an effect Alexei had on Alex when they had teased him into compliance. But he had never dreamed anything could be like this. To see the dark head in motion between his legs. To have his cock worked by that talented mouth, his so sensitive skin tantalised and tormented past bearing, until his hands were clawing desperately at the sheets, twisting into their folds, his hips arching off the bed. He came with a hoarse yell, feeling the hot pulsing of his body as he finally clutched Alexei tight to him.

Alexei raised his head in triumph, and green eyes almost glowed with exultation. Baines realised that his double was enjoying himself immensely. For once in his life, Alexei was getting exactly what he wanted, and that something was Baines, body and soul. Baines found his gaze drawn irresistibly to Alexei's hard erection, that rose from the lush body like a glistening column. He reached out a tentative hand to grasp it, and Alexei moaned wantonly, wriggling his hips, pushing himself into Baines grasp. Baines began to spread the pre-cum that flowed from the tip of that beautiful cock down its full length, then as he was watched by his lover, moved astride Alexei, and lowered himself by inches onto it. It was more than good, it was incredible. He could have sworn that sparks were reflected in the eyes that watched his every move, as he started to move. The focus of his world narrowed to the hardness that pressed its way inside him in glorious epiphany. His body was moving on instinct alone, his hands were too busy clutching at Alexei, pulling him closer and closer. He lost himself in the glory of lovemaking with this man. 

Alexei's moans were increasing in volume, as he too lacked restraint. God knows what the three Gunmen must be thinking, both clones were vocal in their enjoyment of sex. Baines opened his eyes and caught a glimpse of Alexei beneath him, totally out of control, arching off the bed in abandon. The other man was glorious to behold, his lightly golden, sweat slicked skin seemed to catch the light and appear like molten gold. And the bliss in the green fire of his eyes. Baines lost the final shreds of his restraint, then he was coming in a shattering climax, screaming, his body arching backwards, his body jetting its seed uncontrollably onto Alexei's chest. Seconds later, Baines felt the body beneath his convulse, and Alexei reared up against him, crying his name with more love and desire than he had never dreamed possible.

Their bodies sagged together, Baines ending up wrapped in his lover's arms.

"I love you Alexei!" he murmured, nestling his head into his lover's shoulder. The flash of heat that lit Alexei's eyes, and the slow, shy smile were all the reply he needed.

*******

In the morning, a cautious intrusion into their privacy by Langly, in search of a t-shirt, had revealed the two clones sleeping naked in each other's arms, both looking surprisingly innocent. Until Baines had opened one eye in warning, and Langly had seen the knife appear, poised for throwing, in his hand. Better, probably, to ignore the clones and their odd notions of behaviour, Frohike and his friends concluded. Which thought was reinforced when later Baines started to give Alexei a lesson in unarmed combat in their living area, mainly ignoring techniques that leave the opponent still alive. And Alexei thought it was fun!

*******

"Got it!" Byers yelled, and was immediately surrounded by his companions. "There are only three installations near Washington that could house the medical facilities that Baines thought were significant, and also have top secret clearance. Two of them would be a little too crowded with civilians for a kidnapping to go unnoticed. Which leaves one facility outside of Baltimore. It's our best guess." Baines nodded.

 "Tell Scully to be ready. Alex might need specialist medical help, and I want him kept safe if he has to go into hospital." 

"Kick ass time?" Alexei said softly.

"Oh yeah!" his double answered.

*******

Mulder struggled uselessly against the cuffs that were fastening his hands together. Hardened steel was, of course, far too strong for him to damage in any way. He was led by two guards down a short corridor, until he came to a locked door. One of the men pulled a gun, and aimed it at his head, while the other unlocked the cuffs, then the door. He was motioned inside, and the lock clicked shut behind him. He glared at the featureless metal for a moment before turning to inspect his latest surroundings.

Time seemed to slow, and he would never afterwards remember falling to his knees before the man he loved most in the world, who lay sprawled on the bed, and pulling the unconscious body into his arms. In truth, Alex was barely recognisable as the fit young lover he adored. His unhealthy greyish skin was almost transparent, and stretched tightly over his face, making it appear skull like. He was shivering slightly as Mulder held him, and a moan was the only response Mulder could get, as he kissed the limp body and found himself whispering loving nonsense to him. Whatever had been done to Alex, he was burning up with fever, and his body didn't seem to be fighting back properly.

The voice from up near the ceiling emerged from a high up speaker.

"I'm kind, Mulder, so I thought you'd like to see Alex before he dies. He's been very useful to us, I should really put forward his name for a medal. Posthumous, of course. Pity such a massive infection set in, we could have used more samples. But I'm sure one of your little clones could fill in for him, even if the samples aren't as pure." He laughed for a moment. "Wonderful what some people will do to keep their loved ones safe, isn't it!"

The Smoker must have been highly satisfied by the scream that Mulder gave, a mixture of despair and denial, as he realised that they were going to let Alex die. He was unquestionably satisfied by the large fee the Government had paid him for the procedure. His Swiss bank account was nicely swollen by it.

******

There was a commotion in the corridor that broke into the Smoker's pleasant musings over money, and who exactly he could buy with it. Some eager, well proportioned young man with a taste for the things cash could buy, who was *very* flexible in his tastes. Maybe in Morocco or Thailand, where life was a lot cheaper.....

"Sir!" One of his operatives rushed in to tell him the news. "We've got the little whore back again. He was wandering round outside Mulder's apartment, and our surveillance unit picked him up."

The Smoker smiled. Finally, things were all falling into place for him. Just at an opportune moment, too. When Krycek died, he would have need of a replacement, even one as flawed and inferior as the timid, sluttish insignificance that called itself Alexei. And he had a debt to claim from that particular clone, a small matter of a blow to his manly pride. He decided to pacify the clone by giving him to his men, before the next round of medical experiments started.

Alexei struggled of course, uselessly. His big eyes filled with pathetic tears as he realised what was going to happen to him. Pitiable. Well, almost. With a whimpering noise, he sank to his knees in front of the biggest of the three guards. 

"Please.... Don't hurt Alexei.... I can be good...." He whimpered as the first man seized his hair.

"Let's drag the little slut to the cells. We can be more private there!" The guards grinned at each other. The Smoker had chosen his latest batch of men with care, after the fiasco with Baines. All were personally loyal to him, and shared his particular tastes.

Alexei wailed loudly, as he was dragged by the hair, kicking and flailing uselessly with his untrained hands, down the corridor. There was little doubt in the clone's mind about what was going to happen to him. A cell door was kicked open, and he was half pushed, half flung inside. One of the guards laughed.

"We can be gentle, or we can hurt you, scum. Which is it going to be?" he lied. Desperate green eyes watched him. 

"Don't hurt Alexei.... Do what you want! Anything......" With a frightened whisper, Alexei acquiesced. Grinning in triumph, the first of the guards unzipped his bulging fly. 

"I've heard you're famous for your talent with that pretty mouth," he said. "Why don't you show us all...." He watched the bruised mouth descend, and then found out that it was even better that the stories had led him to believe.

******

Mulder had kept vigil over Alex for hours now, feeling his despair increase as the younger man's breaths grew gradually shallower, and his temperature seemed to climb. He did his best to cool the fever in his lover's body by bathing him periodically with cold water. But it was only a temporary remedy, and he knew it. Once the almost transparent eyelids had fluttered, and Alex had stared up at him, barely conscious. The corner of Alexei's lips had quirked up in a tiny smile of acknowledgement, but the effort had seemed to exhaust him, and his eyes slid shut again a moment later. So Mulder sat beside him, resting his head on the pillow next to his lover's, so that Alex would see him if he woke again. However remote a chance that was.

He was roused from an uneasy slumber by a loud noise outside the room. A quick, anxious glance at Alex showed no change. But there was something familiar about the voice he could hear wailing in distress. 

Alexei?

He flung himself at the door, and saw, through the grill, the clone being dragged to the opposite cell. The laughter of the guards told him what they intended, then unmistakable groans from one of the guards told him what was happening. His prudence and common sense vanished, because his previous experience had taught him never to call the attention of the guards to him. Pressing his face against the grill, he started screaming in denial and hopelessness, pleading with them to leave Alexei alone.

The guards laughed, when they heard the other prisoner's entreaties. But Alexei..... His head jerked up, and the big guard hissed in frustration as the clone stopped what he was doing.

"Did I tell you to stop, slut. Make it good, and I might even be gentle when I fuck you later!"

He didn't even see the elbow that exploded upwards, impacting under his ribcage and driving vulnerable tissues upwards. That secret blow, known only to martial arts professionals that could, and did, crush the heart. Before he even had time to realise he was dead, the clone had risen in one fluid movement, and a fist like steel was driven against the second guards forehead hard enough to shatter bone inwards into the brain. The third guard made the mistake of reaching for his gun instead of running, and the clone, almost lazily, seized the sides of his head and rotated his neck until the vertebrae snapped and the spinal column was reduced to mush. There were a thousand ways to kill with bare hands, and Baines prided himself on knowing them all.

Silently he armed himself with the guards weapons, and pulled a small receiver from where it was taped around his ankle.

"Target located!" he hissed. "Be ready!" He triggered the location beacon.

He hurried to where Mulder stood, stunned, having seen the last stages of the fight. Baines bared his teeth in a savage grin. 

"They thought I was 'Lexy because he showed me his techniques. They got careless. Tough shit!"

 He unfastened the door, and went inside. His breath caught at the sight of Alex, and it was his turn to stare in appalled grief at the desperately sick man. His fingers touched the fevered man's face, wincing at the heat of his skin.

"How long has he been this sick?" he said softly.

"Over a day that I know of!" Mulder sounded hoarse with grief.

"We've got to get him out now!" Baines replied. "The cavalry is coming, so hold on."

He looked at his watch, then began counting backwards from one hundred. When he reached eleven, the wall across the corridor exploded inwards, as the high explosives Alexei had planted against the outer wall were triggered. There was a rumbling of rubble settling, and a cloud of dust billowed around the new entrance. In the distance, emergency klaxons were blaring.

Baines sighed.

"Shit Alexei!" he muttered. "I knew I should have made you practice counting in the nineties again!" 

Alexei's timekeeping was exceptional, except when he couldn't remember his numbers. He tended to leave the hard ones out. So a countdown to triggering the explosives wasn't particularly reliable.

Somehow, Baines and Mulder began to carry Alex Krycek towards the hole in the wall. It took both of them to lift him over the rubble. Which is why they were taken by surprise at the appearance of the Smoker. Their enemy pointed a gun at Baines. 

"You really are the bane of my life, Baines. I should have had you killed at birth. like we do to all the inferior clones. And your whore. Both of you are defects."

Baines had frozen, and desperately looked for an opportunity to jump the Smoker. Maybe it would give Mulder a chance for freedom. But he was too far away.

"No!" A new voice sounded from behind the Smoker. "You're not gonna hurt my family again!"

With a snort of contempt, the Smoker glanced dismissively at the real Alexei. And his look of surprise stayed on his face as he fell, shot through the heart by the clone he had forced to mature all too rapidly.

Baines grinned openly at his love, and then began the serious business of getting Alex to help. 

Alexei stood for a moment, staring at his target. He had thought that killing would make him feel sick, but all he felt now was a disgust for the man who had made their lives a misery. Wondering at his own courage in stopping the Smoker. With a little frown of loathing, he aimed a quick, petty kick at the corpse. Something small, a little book encased in a plastic folder, fell out of the jacket pocket. Alexei stooped, curious, and picked up the folder. Maybe it would give him some reading practice later. Right now though, he had to help Mulder and Alex to the car.

******

Alex Krycek lay frustratedly in his hospital bed. It would be weeks until he was allowed out of here. And the delights of daytime television were guaranteed to turn his stomach. Supermarket sweep repeats and a rerun of Dallas. Nothing too steamy to excite the patient. These small town hospitals! Still at least Scully's friend was a decent sort. She had even managed to make Mulder take a rest every now and then. A giggle broke him out of his daydream.

Alexei was practising breaking and entering again. Coming in through the window, instead of using the door! Baines had unleashed a monster! And, on cue, a second dark clad figure entered. Two sets of green eyes inspected him like he was a slab of meat. Then, apparently satisfied with what they saw, both came closer. Alexei bent and kissed his forehead affectionately, and Baines squeezed his hand.

"You gonna tell him or can I?" Alexei was excited about something.

"Go ahead!" Baines smiled indulgently, "It's your find anyway!"

Alexei waved the little blue book at Alex. "Baines has been telling me about Swiss bank accounts. And how we've got lots of money. Enough to be safe forever. To buy a new life, and even get me a cabin with a real horse!"

Baines laughed and wrapped his arms around Alexei. The clone nestled back into his arms with a look of adoration. Alex found himself smiling at the happiness in both faces. Then he thought about what Alexei had said, and quirked an eyebrow at Baines.

"We have the bank book and details of the Smoker's Swiss bank account. That's all we need to empty it. Over ten million dollars and it's all ours!"

The three of them exchanged looks of sly delight. And when Mulder entered the room, a few minutes later, he couldn't help but feel that the Krycek clan were definitely up to something! As usual, he would be the last to know. And it was probably illegal. But then, that's why they were so much fun to be with. And why he loved them. But Alex most of all.

*******

End of Double Trouble VI (1/1)

This is the last episode in the Double Trouble book/series. I'm thinking of a new story with Alexei and Baines later in the year, tentatively entitled "The Clone Wars." dealing with the origins of the Krycek clones, how clones are indoctrinated, and a new enemy they face.

\--   
megaera


End file.
